Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand, has made the rather controversial claim that Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, would jump at the chance to be named United manager.
After suffering a difficult start to life at the Gunners, finishing eighth twice and fifth in his first three seasons, his side has sprung into life, finishing second last year and currently sit two points behind leaders Liverpool with 12 games to play.
The Spaniard also won the FA Cup in his first season in charge and has been praised by numerous pundits about the job he is doing at the Emirates.
The North London side have won 18 of their 26 games and have accumulated an impressive 2.23 points per game this year in the league.
However, speaking to his VIBE with FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand made the extraordinary claim that “Arteta would leave Arsenal to join Man United, 100 per cent”.
The now turned pundit admitted the scenario was unlikely but predicted the former Arsenal player could not turn down the Mancunian side.
Elaborating on the issue he said, “if Man United, in a wild dream, said you know what Erik ten Hag, thank you. Or Erik ten Hag’s been poached by Bayern Munich, and he goes there. And Man United say right, off the top of our list is Arteta. Arteta is going in and saying to the lads, listen guys it’s been emotional, but I’ve got to move, got to go”.
Many fans were hopeful that the season was back on track with six wins out of seven in 2024, however reality brought the side crashing back down to Earth last Saturday.
The Red Devils produced a lifeless display against Fulham at home and were punished with a 1-2 defeat, leaving the side eight points behind Aston Villa, who sit in fourth, with only 12 matches left to play in the league season.
However, it is a rather big claim to suggest that Arteta would have any interest in leaving North London, especially for Old Trafford.
Objectively, the United job is the biggest in England and would be a temptation for any manager.
However, Arteta is a former Arsenal player and also has ties to Manchester City as he was one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants for three years.
Moreover, the Gunners are currently fighting for the Premier League title while United are barely in a top four race.
Therefore, the former United defender’s prediction seems fanciful at best.
