After Manchester City’s win at Southampton last Sunday, Pep Guardiola confirmed he would not stand in Mikel Arteta’s way if he wanted to leave the club for Arsenal.
Arteta is part of Guardiola’s backroom staff at Manchester City and was credited with being a key part of their Premier League title success.
On Thursday a meeting was held between Arteta, Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain, the director of football at Manchester City.
Whilst Sport have a decent record for transfer news and player movements, they usually have good sources when it comes to Guardiola and Begiristain.
Once Arteta takes charge at Arsenal, it seems quite likely that the Spanish press may become quite reliable for news on the Gunners. In the same way the French media often had scoops when Arsene Wenger was manager.
Arsenal are now satisfied that they have found their man to replace Arsene Wenger after 22 years in the job.
With Manchester City not standing in Arteta’s way, the move to take over at Arsenal looks like happening swiftly.
Another meeting is now expected between Arteta and Gazidis to close out any final issues and the move is expected to be announced soon.