Soccer is a game of opinions and sometimes it leads to clashes off the pitch. Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has been quite active recently, and has pissed off many Arsenal fans, first with an opinion on Bukayo Saka and then on manager Mikel Arteta.
He claimed that Saka was not a world class player and later said that Arteta would willingly leave Arsenal for Manchester United if given the chance. And now the Spaniard has decided to respond in the best possible way.
Mikel Arteta responds to Rio Ferdinand’s Man Utd claim
Mikel Arteta recently said in a press interview that pundits like Rio often get publicity for their negative opinions rather than their positive ones. Rio had earlier claimed on his FIVE podcast that the Spaniard would happily join United: “Arteta would leave Arsenal to come to Man United, 100 per cent.”
Many fans then decided to mock the pundit on social media, considering the fact that Arteta is a lifelong Arsenal fan, and was one of their players once. Arteta was asked about the opinions of Rio Ferdinand and he had a really good answer. He said that managers are constantly subjected to opinions from the media and pundits, “It’s part of our job that we’re exposed to the media, to the pundits. And they have their opinions.”
🔴⚪️ Arteta on @rioferdy5’s opinion about leaving Arsenal in case of Man United job…
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 2, 2024
“Normally we highlight opinions that are not that positive… sometimes we focus too much on the negatives”.pic.twitter.com/9w9ia6DIv1
He then said how only the negative points make headlines while the positive ones don’t get any attention. “The only thing is we normally highlight ones not very positive. We should highlight the times when they say great things, make great comments and great points. Sometimes, though, we focus too much on the negative views.”
It was certainly a brilliant answer from the Gunners boss, who instead of clashing with Rio, gave a very smart and refined answer.
Arteta’s reasoning behind Arsenal contract decision
Mikel Arteta has no intention to leave Arsenal and nor does his talented young superstars as well. In the last year, the Gunners have managed to tie down some of their biggest talents such as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli, William Saliba, and Martin Odegaard.
When pressed about the reasoning behind all the new contracts, Arteta replied that it was because their young players are hungry to win trophies at Arsenal and are collectively gunning for the Premier League title.
He said, “We know with those players, their tummies are still very empty – because they haven’t won a lot and they want to improve. That’s part of the reason why we wanted to renew because we know this is something that could be motivating to them and that gives them reassurance.”
It does seem it is working out as Arsenal have been performing great this last two seasons. They are third in the Premier League with 58 points, and are fighting to win it finally after many years. Mikel Arteta will hope his men can get the job done again when they face Sheffield United tomorrow night.
