Mikel Arteta dismisses 'fake' Barcelona links with update on new Arsenal contract
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says reports he is off to Barcelona this summer are “fake news”.
Reports in Spain on Sunday night claimed that the Spaniard is ready to quit Arsenal and take the Barcelona job in the summer, after Xavi announced over the weekend he is leaving the Catalan giants.
Arteta, however, remains committed to Arsenal, where he is contracted until 2025.
The Spaniard was upset by reports saying he had told backroom staff he was leaving the Gunners this summer and insisted on Tuesday they are untrue.
“That’s totally fake news,” he said. “What you read yesterday... I don’t know where it is coming from and it is totally untrue. I am really upset about it.
“I could not believe it. I don’t know where it is coming from and it has no source. It has got nothing and I think we have to be very cautious when you talk about personal things to put it in the way it was put yesterday.
“I am in the right place. I am with the right people. I feel really good about it. And, as I said many times, I am invested in a beautiful journey with this football club, with these players, these staff, our people, and there is still a lot, a lot to do.
“We all share that ambition and you can feel it as well, that we want more, that we aren't satisfied and that the club wants to take another push and another level in everything we are doing, this is where we are. We need everyone on board to achieve it and I am certainly on board.”
Arteta is into the final 18 months of his contract at Arsenal and he has not held talks over fresh terms yet. The Spaniard, however, is relaxed about the situation.
“I think I have got a strong relationship with the board, with Edu, with Tim, with the ownership and things come in a natural way,” he said.
“We have always done that way and it worked out really well. And when the time is right we will have those discussions and think about the best way to do it.”