Manchester City have been looking at a replacement for Pep Guardiola if he was to leave one day for years, with Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta deemed as a ‘genuine contender’ for the role.
The Athletic claims that even while Arteta was “struggling slightly” in the past as Arsenal’s manager, City still considered him as a possible choice.
Since then, Arteta has turned Arsenal into a serious contender for the Premier League title, despite the fact that they have lost to City in the last two seasons.
Furthermore, Arteta is believed to be content in his current position at the Emirates and there is currently no hint that he will leave Arsenal to take over City.
Arteta was strongly considered to replace Guardiola as City boss
When the Gunners opted to take a chance on Arteta in 2019 and bring him in as their head coach to replace Unai Emery, he was working as Guardiola’s assistant.
The 42-year-old helped Arsenal clinch the FA Cup in 2020 – but they initially struggled in the Premier League under Arteta – finishing eighth in 2021.
Although Arsenal first struggled in the Premier League under the 42-year-old, the gunners finished eighth in 2020 winning the FA cup that same year, before ending in the same position the following year.
Following their fifth-place finish in the following season, Arsenal turned things around and went on to fight City for the Premier League championship in 2022–2023 before finishing the season as runners-up.
Arsenal will now be hoping their lengthy wait to be crowned English champions would come to an end in May 2025 after finishing second again last season, pushing City even closer.
Since Guardiola’s contract expires at the end of the current campaign, there has been much conjecture about who would take his position at the Etihad.
It should be highlighted, though, that Guardiola has not yet stated if he plans to stay with City or leave.
When Patrick Vieira was doing well as head coach of Crystal Palace, he was also considered as a potential managerial candidate for City, in addition to Arteta.
City are actively evaluating a number of different managers, but Arteta and Vieira are no longer in the running.
Ange Postecoglou of Tottenham, Xabi Alonso of Bayer Leverkusen, Ruben Amorim of Sporting Lisbon, and Roberto De Zerbi, the former manager of Brighton, are all linked to the position.
