Mikel Arteta was keen on joining Wales’ coaching setup before taking on the head coach job at Arsenal.
The Spaniard retired from playing back in 2016 and received a number of coaching offers including from Arsenal and Tottenham, but opted to join Manchester City as assistant to Pep Guardiola.
Arteta quickly impressed as a coach and was on Arsenal’s shortlist to succeed Arsene Wenger in 2018, but the job was instead handed to Unai Emery after he left Paris Saint-Germain.
However, there was another gig that Arteta had his eyes on that year too – the assistant manager’s job for the Wales national team.
Speaking to S4C, former Wales assistant Osian Roberts spoke of how he nearly got the main job ahead of Ryan Giggs when Chris Coleman stepped aside in 2018, revealing that Arteta was keen on joining his coaching setup.
“I had spoken to Mikel Arteta and Thierry Henry to come in as assistant coaches with me. Mikel wanted to come and was keen,” Roberts said.
“The day before the interviews he asked [Man City] if he could come along. The club stopped him from attending the day before the interviews. That was a disappointment, but we were still discussing with Thierry.
“Thierry said, ‘Get the job first and then we can discuss further’.”
Arteta had earned his UEFA coaching licence with Wales’ youth setups, coaching their Under-16 side during the latter stages of his playing career.
He ended up heading to Arsenal in December 2019 as their new head coach, with his job title changing to manager after winning the FA Cup at the end of his first season in charge.
What we know
- Arteta retired from playing in 2016 and had coaching offers from Arsenal and Tottenham
- He instead joined Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s assistant
- Osian Roberts has revealed Arteta was keen to join Wales’ setup