Manager Mikel Arteta 'really upset' over reports he will leave Arsenal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on Monday that he was “really upset” about reports claiming he may leave the club for Barcelona in the summer, which he slammed as “fake news.”

Current Barca boss Xavi announced on Saturday that he would be stepping down from the role at the end of the season.

When asked if he was leaving the club in the summer, Arteta said, 'Who me? No, that's totally fake news. What you read yesterday, I don't know where it's coming from, and it's totally untrue. I am really upset about it.'

'I could not believe. I don't know where it's coming from, it’s got no source, it's got nothing. And, I think we have to be very cautious when you talk about personal things, to put it in the way that it was put yesterday,' he added.

'I'm in the right place. I'm with the right people. I feel really good about it. And, as I said many times, I'm immersed in a beautiful journey with this football club, with these players, the staff, our people. And there is still a lot, a lot to do,' Arteta said after being asked about his commitment to the club.

Spanish newspaper Sport said Arteta, who is a product of Barcelona's youth academy, was also thinking of leaving his post with the Gunners.

Arteta never played a competitive game for Barcelona's first team and, after a loan spell at Paris St-Germain, the former midfielder went on to play for Rangers, Real Sociedad, Everton and Arsenal.

After retiring, he worked as a coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before taking over at the north London club in December 2019.

Speaking to the media on Monday, the 41-year-old - who has won an FA Cup and two Community Shields in his time at the Emirates - said he still “has a lot to do” at Arsenal, with the team challenging for the English Premier League title for the second successive season and being in the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first-time since 2017.