‘He’s off!’ – Ferdinand claims Arteta would ‘100 per cent’ leave Arsenal for Man Utd
Rio Ferdinand is convinced that Mikel Arteta would leave Arsenal for Man Utd if the Red Devils asked him to take over from Erik ten Hag.
During his time at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta has transformed the Gunners into genuine title contenders with Arsenal running Man City all the way last campaign.
And now this season they are challenging again with Arteta’s men two points behind leaders Liverpool with 12 games left to play.
Their title credentials were questioned during a tricky spell over December but Arsenal have responded perfectly with six Premier League wins on the bounce.
Despite their good form and being 14 points ahead of Man Utd, Ferdinand is convinced that Arteta would still leave Arsenal in order to take over at Old Trafford if Ten Hag were to leave.
When asked what would happen if Arteta was offered the Man Utd job, Ferdinand said on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube channel: “He’s off!
“Arteta would leave Arsenal to go to Man United, 100 per cent. He would!
“Nobody is saying it’s happening but if Man United in a wild dream said, ‘Do you know what, Erik ten Hag, thank you’, or Erik ten Hag has been poached by Bayern Munich and he goes there…
“And then Manchester United say, ‘Right, top of our list is Arteta’, Arteta is going in and saying to the lads, ‘Listen guys, it’s been emotional but I’ve got to move, I’ve got to go, good luck next season!'”
When asked if Ten Hag will keep his job at Man Utd if they fail to finish in the top four, Ferdinand added: “It depends how [he finishes the season]. If he runs it close and they see an upturn in form and an upturn in the environment at the training ground. And if they can see something where it’s like, ‘Okay we can see what it looks like going into next season maybe, if we add the right pieces to it as well’.
“Given the structure behind him now it could be [a different story]. A lot of moving parts have to fall into place for him to stay.
“But if they don’t finish the season well and they’re losing games and it looks like the dressing room ain’t a harmonious place… and one thing I would say is, I don’t think Jim Ratcliffe and his team are shy of making big decisions.”
Ferdinand continued: “It wouldn’t be a big thing for them if they had to intervene.
“They wouldn’t be thinking, ‘Oh I’ve got to work out the media and the PR’. No, no. What’s right for Man United now, they’ll do.”
