Rio Ferdinand recently argued that Mikel Arteta would quit Arsenal if the Manchester United job was offered to him.
It became a popular soundbite from Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE podcast and it was only a matter of time before a reporter asked Arsenal manager Arteta for his take on it.
The former Manchester United centre-back said: “Arteta would leave Arsenal to come to Man United, 100 per cent. No-one is saying it’s happening, but if Man United, in their wildest dreams, said ‘do you know what, Erik ten Hag, thank you’, or Erik ten Hag has been poached by Bayern Munich and he goes there, and Man United say ‘right, top of our list, Mikel Arteta’.
“Arteta is going in [to Arsenal] and saying ‘listen lads, it’s been emotional, but I’ve got to move and got to go.’”
For a bit of context, when saying this, Ferdinand was in the studio trying to rile up an Arsenal fan who works on the podcast. The comment was tongue in cheek and unsurprisingly blown out of proportion on social media.
When asked about it at a press conference, Arteta told reporters (via The Express): “The only thing is we normally highlight ones not very positive. We should highlight the times when they say great things, make great comments and great points.
“These are said in a really good way and with a vision of someone who has the experience. If we do this, it is much better. Sometimes, though, we focus too much on the negative views.”
Life advice from Arteta. I’ll pass on that, thanks.
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