The truth behind those Arteta to Spurs rumours

The Mirror have today suggested the possibility that the Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta could join the coaching staff of Spurs.

While it would hardly be akin to a certain Judas leaving Tottenham for Arsenal on a free transfer, eyebrows would certainly move northwards were the Spaniard make the move to White Hart Lane.

The article claims that Pep Guardiola wants the former Everton star to join his staff at Manchester City, before mentioning that Spurs could provide an alternative thanks to Arteta’s relationship with Mauricio Pochettino.

In truth, Arteta’s friendship with Pochettino seems to be the only reasoning to link him to such a controversial move. Arteta gave an interview to the Arsenal website in September 2014 ahead of Pochettino’s first North London derby, in which he spoke about his time playing with the Spurs boss when they were both at Paris St Germain. The interview was referenced in The Mirror’s article.

“He (Bielsa) transformed him as a player and he made a top player out of him.

“He learned a lot and he took a lot of his training methods to his own philosophy now. You can see that the way his teams play are not very far away from Bielsa’s style.

“He was the captain of the club and for me, he was like a father. He really looked after me. He taught me about the values and the behaviour that a professional footballer must have.

“He told me about the way a footballer must look after himself and he had a lot of respect for his team-mates. I will always be grateful for what he did for him and I respect him for that.”

Arteta comments are interesting in that they present another example of Pochettino’s leadership abilities, but they don’t add up as evidence that he’ll soon be swapping Arsenal for Tottenham.

While it would not be a huge surprise if Arteta followed his former Barcelona colleague Guardiola to Manchester City- where he would bring his considerable experience in the Premier League to the new coaching staff – we’d be shocked if Arteta is on the bench at Spurs next season.