Former England star Paul Merson has claimed Arsenal’s project is more exciting than Barcelona’s, backing Mikel Arteta to extend his legacy in north London.
Mikel Arteta Shoots Down Barcelona Links
Following the embarrassing 5-3 defeat to Villarreal on Saturday (January 27), Xavi announced he would step down as Barcelona manager at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. The Spaniard insisted he would not reverse his decision even if the Blaugrana went on to win the UEFA Champions League.
Since his announcement, many top-tier managers have been linked with the Barca job, including Arsenal boss Arteta. On Sunday, Spanish media claimed that Arteta, who came up through Barcelona’s La Masia academy, was ready to replace Xavi at Barcelona. Ex-Spain international Luis Garcia added fuel to the flame, backing Arteta to seriously consider the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Arteta, however, shot all the reports down prior to the Gunners’ trip to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday (January 30). The former Manchester City manager said he was “upset” with the reports and branded them “fake news.” (via ESPN).
Merson Claims Arsenal Are Now A Bigger ‘Draw’ Than Struggling Barca
Writing in his Sky Sports column, Merson urged everyone to trust in Arteta’s words, claiming there was no reason for him to leave the thriving London project for tumbling Blaugrana.
The two-time English champion opined:
“Mikel Arteta has said he is not happy with reports claiming he will leave this summer to replace Xavi at Barcelona, and has denied it. You have to go with his word. The game has changed now, Arsenal is a bigger draw than Barcelona in my opinion.
“Five, 10, 15 years ago, you ask any footballer or manager in the world and they all wanted to play for or manage Real Madrid or Barcelona. That was the pinnacle of your football career.”
He continued:
“But I do not think that is now the case with Barcelona anymore, they are an also-ran. They are not a big threat in Europe anymore and are well off the pace in the Spanish title race, while they got smashed again the other night by Villarreal.
“Five, six, seven years ago I may have said, ‘I do not see anything but Arteta leaving’, although I could be wrong, but I do not see how they are a bigger draw than Arsenal today. I do not see how they are a step forward, then there are their finances and you would rather work with Arsenal’s squad of players than Barcelona’s right now.”
Currently fourth in the La Liga standings, Barcelona are sitting 11 points behind league leaders Girona. They have also been knocked out of the Copa del Rey and lost the Supercopa de Espana final to Real Madrid. Arsenal, meanwhile, are in second place in the Premier League rankings, trailing leaders Liverpool by two points, albeit after playing a game more.
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