This is Arsenal's response to rumors about Arteta leaving for Barcelona

Chaos broke out in Barcelona over the weekend. After the absurd 4-2 defeat against Villarreal, Xavi Hernandez announced at the press conference that he had made the decision to leave the club after the end of the 2023/24 season. The team's poor performances had caused harsh criticism over the last few weeks, but it all blew up with the Super Cup and Copa del Rey eliminations, coupled with the failures in La Liga.

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Now the Catalan side's chiefs have the difficult mission of finding a suitable replacement. The first options mentioned were former players of the club, such as Rafael Marquez and Thiago Motta. The former is the current coach of Barca Atletic, the subsidiary team that competes in the third division of Spanish soccer. And Motta, apparently the favorite of sporting director Deco, is working at Bologna in Italy.

However, those names do not seem to satisfy the desire of the fans, so more important alternatives began to be rumored. Germans Jurgen Klopp, Hansy Flick and Julian Nagelsmann were among them, but one of the most surprising was Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal coach was trained in Barcelona's youth teams, was Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City and has a similar style to the Catalan side, so the choice seems logical.

There were rumors that Arteta told people close to him that he feels ready for a new stage in his professional career. And he even warned his assistants to prepare for a change next summer, despite being under contract with The Gunners until June 30, 2025. But The Sun reports that Arsenal deny these rumors are true and are convinced Arteta will stay in London next season.

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Xavi still has a chance

Despite announcing that he will leave at the end of the 2023/24 season, Xavi Hernandez still has a big target at Barcelona. They are qualified for the Champions League round of 16, where they will face Napoli. Although the team's recent performances seem to be far from the level of other European giants such as Manchester City and Real Madrid, the coach is confident that they can compete for the title.