Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he is keen on becoming a coach once his playing days come to an end.
The midfielder has strangely been reported with moves to Manchester City and Tottenham, who are keen on recruiting him as a coach. Arteta has not signed a contract extension with Arsenal and is expected to leave the club at the end of the campaign. He has suffered from numerous ankle and calf related problems in the last two seasons and it has seen him making just 15 league appearances during this period.
The injury problems coupled with the age of the player is likely to see him announce his retirement. Throughout the campaign, Wenger has expressed his desire to retain Arteta even in some form of a coaching capacity because he felt that the Spanish midfielder is one of the leaders in the dressing room. However, Tottenham and Manchester City are understood to be making moves to sign the midfielder on a coaching role. Arteta is close with Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, while incoming City manager Pep Guardiola also holds him in high regard. Both have refused to rule out Arteta joining them in the summer.
Arteta claimed that he is coach who wants his team to be aggressive and full of pace. After having worked with top managers from around the world, Arteta is keen on taking the next step. “I am looking to go into coaching at the end of my career, and so I look at everybody and try to analyse what works and what doesn’t. If you were to ask me about my philosophy as a coach – and I’ve been lucky to work under some of the very best coaches – I will want to play in the opposition half, and to be very aggressive,” said Arteta.