Gary Neville claims a "hard" Mikel Arteta would quit Arsenal if he delivered fourth place this season with the club hitting a glass ceiling.
The Gunners are in pole position to land the final Champions League spot and once again grace Europe's top table. Their recent decline has seen them compete in the Europa League or even miss out on Europe all together. Arsenal finished eighth last term but shrewd summer recruitment and commitment to his playing ideals has hugely benefited Arteta this season.
However the north Londoners, once challengers for the top flight, are now someway off the leading pack and may struggle to exceed fourth place. Manchester United, previously Arsenal's main rivals, have also had to manage their expectations following a notable dip since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.
Neville has cited the "depressed ambition" as a possible problem for Arsenal should another club come knocking for their manager. Arteta, at just 40, is seeing his stock rise fast and the Sky Sports pundit believes he may move on if he feels he's taken the Gunners as far as he can.
"I really like Mikel Arteta, I think he’s a brilliant coach. I think the team is fantastic in terms of the young players they’ve got," Neville said on the Overlap. "But it’s interesting when you’re in a cycle of a club and you depress the ambition and have a significant period of failure because you then get really happy about finishing fourth.
"I found myself saying that about Manchester United. But it’s because of a depressed ambition. I think Mikel Arteta is a good operator. My concern is if Arsenal finish fourth this season – which to be fair, I think is 50/50, I still think there’s a long way to in that race – but if they finish fourth, that’s in some ways as good as it gets.
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He continued by saying: "Mikel Arteta is a brilliant coach, I love that we’re seeing a team that he’s getting the maximum out of, I can see exactly how he wants to play, we all can. But he gets to fourth [and] if he was really hard about it, he’d probably say 'right, that’s the best I can do there, I’m going now and getting my next job'."
Arteta has been linked with several roles, including the Manchester City job, which will become vacant when Pep Guardiola leaves. The Spaniard served as the Catalan's assistant for several seasons and is well known to the Premier League champions.
The Arsenal boss has already claimed a trophy in the form of the FA Cup and has impressively turned around the club's campaign after seeing them lose their opening three games of the season. Arteta has seen his side win six of their last seven Premier League outings.
The Overlap is a YouTube channel from Gary Neville in partnership with Sky Bet.
