Mikel Arteta refused to bite in response to Rio Ferdinand's comments that the Arsenal boss would leave for Manchester United at the drop of a hat.
Ferdinand said in midweek on his YouTube show FIVE: «Arteta would leave Arsenal to join Man United, 100%. No one is saying it's happening but if Man United in a wild dream 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 then Man United say 'top of the list is Arteta'.
»Arteta is going in and saying to the lads, 'listen guys, it's been emotional but I've got to move, I've got to go'."
Arteta responded by claiming he would prefer to focus on the good work that pundits carry out as opposed to focusing on opinions that «are not very positive».
The 41-year-old said: «No, I think it's part of of our job that we are exposed to the media, to the pundits. And they have their opinions. The only thing is that we normally highlight the ones that are not very positive. So we highlight a lot of the time when they say great things, make great comments and great points.»
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«These are things said like in a really good way and with a vision of someone who has the experience. I think if we do this, it is much better. Sometimes, though, we focus too much on the negative views.»
Arteta's current Arsenal deal is due to run until the summer of 2025 but he can envisage extending his stay, something he outlined back in January amid «fake news» he intended to step down at the end of the season.
Speaking at the start of 2024, Arteta confessed his frustration with
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