Arsenal have been warned that they must show signs of improvement if they are to convince Mikel Arteta to remain at the Emirates Stadium. Gunners icon Alan Smith believes the Spaniard will want to see the reward of his hard work - but could depart if he feels the club is ‘standing still’.
The north Londoners were rocked earlier this month by the resignation of their influential sporting director Edu is set to quit. The Brazilian is widely expected to take a job with Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of clubs such as Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos.
Arteta has previously been linked with a departure from Arsenal. Barcelona were said to be keen on the 42-year-old before they replaced Xavi with Hansi Flick in the summer. Manchester City would surely be in the queue if Pep Guardiola snubs a new contract.
“I think as long as he feels that Arsenal are improving and trying to improve in terms of their ambition. He'll talk to the owners, to Stan Kroenke and Josh, his son, and see what visions they've got,” Smith told Express Sport, via Ace Odds.
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"If he feels the club standing still or going backward, yeah well, a manager of his drive and ambition then would be looking elsewhere but at the moment, he's put so much effort and put so much work into that team and into the club in general. He’ll want to see some reward for it.
“They've been so close to getting that and who knows they might get something this season, whether it's the league or a cup. They're well capable of doing that.”
Arteta only signed a three-year contract extension in September, taking him to 2027. His deal had previously been set to expire next summer.
An underwhelming start to the season has threatened yet another campaign without a major trophy, though. Recent defeats against Newcastle and Bournemouth mean Arsenal are nine points off Premier League leaders Liverpool.
A 1-0 reverse away to Inter Milan in the Champions League has also left Arsenal with work to do to ensure they qualify automatically from the league phase of the revamped competition. A mini injury and suspension crisis has also caused issues.
Arteta is starting to welcome some of those players back, with Martin Odegaard making his first Premier League appearance since August in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
