Manchester City are refusing to rule out a potential move to bring Mikel Arteta back to the club in the future.
The Athletic report that Arteta is not believed to be in the frame to replace Pep Guardiola when he does eventually leave the Premier League champions.
However, it’s claimed that they won’t rule out a future move for Arteta if he goes on to impress as a manager elsewhere.
Arteta is poised to be unveiled as the new Arsenal manager on Friday after saying his goodbyes at Manchester City following their Carabao Cup clash with Oxford United.
Read Arsenal verdict
There have been plenty of contrasting reports about Arteta’s long-term Manchester City future and how he may or may not have been in the running to replace Guardiola.
One thing is clear, City will need to have a plan in place for when the time comes to replace Guardiola and on paper, experience and a safe pair of hands might seem like the right way to go.
Although, that plan backfired for Bayern Munich and Carlo Ancelotti when Guardiola left Germany. Arteta has the experience of working under the City boss and that could offer them a smoother transition.
If that was the case, you’d have to think that the best time for City to bring Arteta in would be to directly replace Pep, but that now seems unlikely following his return to Arsenal.
