New book reveals Mikel Arteta's Newcastle United revelation - what could have been!
A new book has charted Mikel Arteta’s time at Arsenal - and reveals a big revelation about Newcastle United.
Newcastle United reportedly came to close appointing a future Premier League winner as their new head coach in the aftermath of Rafa Benitez’s departure during the summer of 2018.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss helped guide the Magpies back into the Premier League during his first full season at St James Park and helped United retain their top flight status over the two seasons with mid-table finishes. However, questions over the future investment and ambition under former owner Mike Ashley led to the Spaniard’s departure at the end of the 2018/19 season.
A whole host of potential candidates were linked with the role following Benitez’s exit before Ashley and former managing director Lee Charley pushed for a deal for then-Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce. As recent report has suggested Newcastle’s future could have taken a very different turn after they ‘pushed hard’ for an agreement with current Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, then assistant head coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, and revealed the former Everton midfielder was ‘tempted’ to kickstart his career in the dugout at St James Park.
In the book, The Inside Story of Arsenal’s Rebirth Under Mikel Arteta, written by The Telegraph‘s Sam Dean, he said: “Months before Mikel Arteta was appointed by Arsenal, he came extremely close to accepting a role at another Premier League club. It was not known by the wider world, but Newcastle United pushed hard to recruit the Spaniard in the summer of 2019.
“Arteta was tempted. Newcastle are one of the great clubs in English football, with hugely passionate fans, and in many ways they represented the perfect starting point for a coach of Arteta’s age and experience. The previous season, Newcastle had finished 13th in the Premier League table, 11 points clear of the bottom three. On paper at least, there was room for improvement, without a need to be overly fearful of falling into a relegation battle.”
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