Arteta to PSG? Romano quashes report after claims Arsenal manager ‘spoke’ to European giants

Fabrizio Romano has refuted claims that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has held discussions with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Arteta came close to losing his job at the Emirates during the 2020/21 campaign but is now regarded as one of the best managers in the Premier League after Arsenal came very close to winning the title ahead of Manchester City last season.

The Spaniard has been linked with Real Madrid in recent months with Carlo Ancelotti’s future up in the air, though the Italian legend looks like he will remain at the Bernabeu.

And more recently, Arteta has emerged as a managerial target for PSG.

PSG were keen to appoint ex-Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann following the exit of Christophe Galtier, but talks with the German broke down last week.

This led to reports of Arteta ‘speaking’ to the French giants, who are now expected to appoint Luis Enrique as Galtier’s replacement.

French outlet RMC Sport claimed over the weekend that Arteta has held talks with PSG sporting director Luis Campos.

Arteta played for the Parisiens for 18 months from January 2001, scoring five goals in 53 appearances during his loan spell from Barcelona before joining Rangers on a permanent basis.

Despite his link to the club, the report stated the chances of Arteta becoming their next manager are ‘almost nil’.

And an update from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has eased any worries in the Arsenal fan base. The Italian journalist has said no talks have taken place between the Spanish manager and Campos.

Writing for CaughtOffside, Romano provided an update on PSG’s search for a new boss while saying he is ‘not aware’ of discussions with Arteta.

‘Paris Saint-Germain are advancing in talks with Luis Enrique,’ Romano said. ‘The former Barcelona and Spain manager is prepared to accept the job, and is just waiting on final details to be fixed this week.

‘It’s done done yet as there are still final talks to take place over the coaching staff, but he wants the job and discussions are going very well. He’s appreciated by the board and also his international experience is something highly rated by PSG as they look to begin a new era.

‘PSG were also close to appointing Julian Nagelsmann but the deal collapsed when they discussed about the coaching staff and also some problems on the vision for the future plan. In the end, it was a mutual decision to leave talks.

‘Of course, there will always be rumours, but I’m not aware of any concrete talks between Luis Campos and Mikel Arteta. I can confidently say it was absolutely impossible to make anything with Mikel as he’s 100% focused on the Arsenal project, so no need for Arsenal fans to worry there.’