He is the vice-captain of Arsenal and has been one of the most consistent performers for the club since joining the Gunners from Everton three years ago, but Mikel Arteta has been getting a lot of stick from the Arsenal fans recently, many of them hoping he would be sold this summer.

The Spaniard, who has adapted his game to provide the central midfield option that Arsene Wenger wanted from him, has played 134 games for us in his three seasons, scoring 15 goals along the way and providing the team with it’s heartbeat and passing fluency from the centre of the pitch, but some of us were ready to show him the door as Arsenal transfer rumours suggest that Wenger is going to add a more standard type of defensive midfielder during the summer transfer window.

However, Arteta is going nowhere, as he explains in a report by The Metro. The 33-year old says that he would leave if Arsenal really saw no future for him, but that is not the case. There was apparently strong interest from the Italian club Fiorentina, but Arteta has no interest in a move to Serie A, just as long as there is a place for him at Arsenal.

He said, “I can’t stop the rumours, but what I am certain is that I’m really happy here, I feel valued, I have been given a lot of responsibility and I like it.

“Until they think something different about me, I’m happy.

“I had a conversation with the manager. He knows my opinion and we’re fine.”

I for one, am glad and think that he still has a major role to play for the Gunners, on and off the pitch. With such a young team being built by Wenger, some experience and guidance from the likes of Arteta is invaluable. And although we may need more powwer and pace in the middle to cope in the big games, Arteta was a key reason for us being able to take maximum points off all of those lower teams, and that nearly won us the Premier League, don’t forget.

5 thoughts on “Why Arteta snubbed Serie A transfer to stay at Arsenal

  1. I don’t think so mate as Either Flamini or even one of the under-21’s could have done a better job than Arteta. Don’t get me wrong, I like his personality but personalities do not win you the title. He should be sold back to Everton or for all I care, anywhere else!

  2. We gooners need him. He knows how to do, how to play our way and inspire youth how to pass. He is not fastest but he knows how to make a strongest link in the game. He is far above in the ranks of arsenal players.

  3. ‘Why Arteta snubbed Serie A transfer to stay at Arsenal’

    Really – that question needs to be asked ? Cos he counts his blessings every single day. He’s a good player, a good pro & a nice lad. But he reached almost 30 without playing for a big club & without winning an international cap. He is now at a team consistently in the top 4, he’s guaranteed a start every week & wearing the captain’s armband most weeks. He’s the weakest player in the Wenger era with that deemed level of importance in the Arsenal squad; without question. And that’s without even going into the obvious fact that he’s playing out of position & failing terribly (through no fault of his own) in trying to do a job he’s clearly unable to do !!!
    Regardless of who else we buy this summer, if we start the season with Arteta as our no1 defensive midfielder again, then Arsen’s new contract was a terrible decision.

  4. Not this year. Can’t get much from his sales and even if he is not always a starter, he should be on the bench all the time.

  5. He(Arteta) and Monreal were one of the reasons why we lost our big games.He wasn’t able to provide sufficient cover for our back4 while Monreal got cut out from his position too many times.Ozil too can’t be innocent because he lacked fighting spirit and lost the ball many times at the middle of the park which gave our opponents the opportunity to lunch a counter attack.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.