Gaizka Mendieta believes Barcelona will end up knocking on Mikel Arteta’s door and feels Cesc Fabregas could be a potential replacement.
Arteta became Arsenal manager in 2019 and has helped the Gunners win the FA Cup and two Community Shields in his six-year spell at the club.
Arsenal have also finished as Premier League runners-up for the last three seasons in a row, narrowly missing out to Manchester City and Liverpool.
Mendieta feels Arteta will one day be offered the job at Barcelona, with the Spaniard having previously played for their B team from 1999 to 2002.
Arteta also spent two years in the Catalan club’s youth academy and quizzed about his future in management, former Barcelona star Mendieta told OLBG: ‘Whenever Mikel Arteta’s time at Arsenal is up and he’s looking for new experiences, big clubs will be knocking on his door.
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‘The job he’s doing at Arsenal and from now until the moment he leaves, which I’m assuming will be a long term, I’m sure there’ll be more trophies in the cabinet.
‘Like PSG, every season Arsenal can get better, get stronger and keep getting to the latter stages.
‘Big clubs will be knocking on the door, Barca included, as well as other big clubs and even national teams, he will have a lot of offers on the table.’
Mendieta has tipped Fabregas, who is currently managing Italian side Como, as a possible replacement if Arteta ends up moving to Barcelona.
But Mendieta says Fabregas may also be interested in the Chelsea job if it became available.
‘I’m sure there’s been some conversations,’ Mendieta added. ‘But he’s happy at Como.
‘I know he’s happy because the project is key, he is the one deciding who comes and goes and he is bringing the culture and the environment.
‘I’m sure Premier League clubs have approached him, former clubs will have approached him and we’ll see him in the Premier League sometime in the future.
‘Would he suit Arsenal or Chelsea? It could be actually both. I think he’s intelligent enough because he started to play in a way at Como and then he changed quickly.
‘They also change the system within games. I think he’s obviously very intelligent, he was a very intelligent player and is a very intelligent coach.
‘He would adapt to whatever he has. If he goes to Chelsea and he has 50 players, he can pick and choose the system he wants to play.
‘If he goes to Arsenal he can pick the players that he wants.
‘Judging right now, Arsenal looks more like the style of football that he would be playing.’