Rio Ferdinand is sure of his cause: Mikel Arteta had no hesitation in leaving Arsenal to take over Manchester United. If the possibility became a reality.
Speaking on the FIVE podcast earlier this week, the Manchester United icon said:
– Arteta would leave Arsenal for Manchester United, 100 percent. No one says it will happen. But if Man United in a wild dream would say: “Erik ten Hag, thank you for everything”. Or if ten Hag goes to Bayern Munich and Arteta is then at the top of the wish list…
“Then Arteta will go in to the lads (at Arsenal) and say: ‘Listen, it’s an emotional decision but I have to go,'” Ferdinand said.
Yes, it had been a wild dream to say the least. Above all, because the 41-year-old has expressed his love for Arsenal many times before, which he also represented as a player. The Gunners and Manchester United have also been rivals for a long time.
So. What does Arteta himself say about Ferdinand’s performance? He doesn’t want to put any weight on it at all.
Instead, he wants the focus to be placed on experts who come with “good opinions”. Asked whether the forced Manchester United link bothers him, the Arsenal manager replied:
– We are exposed to the media and experts, and they have their opinions. It’s part of the job. But we tend to focus on opinions that are not so positive, says Arteta.
– Instead, we should focus on when they (experts) say good things, come up with good input and have good points. Some things are well said by someone who has the experience of having played. If we were to focus on that, it would have been much better. Because sometimes we tend to focus too much on negative opinions.
Arteta has a contract until 2025.
