Arsenal Will Talk To Mikel Arteta To Replace Arsene Wenger

Arsenal are stepping up their efforts to find Arsene Wenger’s replacement and it looks like all roads are leading to Mikel Arteta with whom they are expected to hold talks on Thursday.

The Frenchman ended his tenure at the north London club after 22-years at the helm and with the club now looking to bring in an able successor, Arteta has emerged as the leading candidate.

According to Sky Sports, Arsenal will hold talks with the former Gunners midfielder on Thursday and if the Spaniard is appointed he is expected to be handed a £50 million ($67 million) transfer budget to strengthen the team ahead of next season.

The search for Wenger’s replacement began after the manager announced his departure from the club in April and a number of candidates were linked with the top post. Former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri and Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann were all mentioned as potential managerial candidates.

The latter two are said to have rejected the chance to take over at the Emirates Stadium preferring to stay with their respective clubs, while Enrique is said to be interested, but his wage demands are said to be more than the Premier League club are willing to pay.

Arteta has always been in the picture, but is not a popular choice among the supporters of the club, who were seeking a high profile appointment. However, the Arsenal hierarchy are said to prefer the former midfielder as they are looking for a coach, who can fit the new management structure.

Arsenal made a number of backroom appointments in the last 12 months bringing in Raul Sanllehi as director of football relations from Barcelona, Sven Mislintat as the head of recruitment from Borussia Dortmund and is keen to bring in a coach that will fit into the new management structure.

The aforementioned duo along with Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis are expected to meet with Arteta before suggesting his name to the majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, who is likely to make the final decision.

The 36-year-old, who played with Arsenal for five seasons, is currently Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager at Manchester City and has fulfilled that role for the last two seasons. The Spanish coach has made it clear he will not stand in Arteta’s way should he want to take the job at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal are said to want to make the appointment before the start of the 2018 Soccer World Cup in Russia on June 14.

Another former player and club legend Patrick Vieira was also said to have been considered for the vacant role, but is said to be out of the equation at the moment with all the reports suggesting Arteta to be the favorite to be named the new Arsenal boss in the coming days.