Mikel Arteta has brushed off reports linking him with Barcelona and insisted he is solely focused on Arsenal.
Arteta has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season with the Gunners, guiding them to the top of the Premier League after 12 games. Arsenal are also already qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League ahead of their final group game against FC Zurich on Thursday night.
Arsenal’s form has seen Arteta’s stock as a manager rise – and his work has been noticed by Barcelona. According to Sport, Barca are keeping an eye on the 40-year-old, who fits the bill for a future job because he spent time in club’s academy as a player and worked under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
Arteta was asked about the rumours in his press conference ahead of the Zurich game. "I am extremely proud and happy to be where I am now,” he said. “I think, Barcelona now, they are in a really good path. I think they have a phenomenal coach - a coach who has been an absolute legend in that club and has lifted the whole place. You have to be very respectful of that.”
While the reports in Spain indicate that Arteta would be a good fit for Barca – and that he has a good relationship with club chiefs Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff – they do stress that there is nothing in the pipeline at the moment.
The Barcelona hierarchy remain behind Xavi Hernandez, despite the team’s failure in the Champions League. Barca ended their group stage with a 4-2 win over Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night, but the win came after their chances of progression had already been snuffed out.
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Xavi’s side were beaten home and away by Bayern Munich and also only managed a draw from their two matches against Inter Milan. They will now enter the Europa League via a play-off round.
"We lack maturity,” Xavi admitted before the Plzen game. “We have a lot of youngsters and we've had the worst Champions League group in years. We've had injuries. They're not excuses, but that has hurt us. With respect to last season, we have a better squad and we have given a better image in Europe. But we haven't been up to the task."
Barcelona spent over €150million in the summer transfer window to bring in the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha, but have struggled in Europe’s top club competition. They are faring better in La Liga, where they sit second, two points behind leaders Real Madrid, after winning 10 of their opening 12 matches.
“We have tried to compete in the Champions [League] and it wasn't enough," Xavi said. "The steps we have taken with respect to last year were smaller than we expected, but we have to be patient and keep working. We have to persist and there is no need to hesitate. We are in the Europa League. We are on the right path. The titles will be won in 2023, we have to wait to see if we have options."
