Romano confirms ‘talks ongoing’ amid claims Arsenal will sack Arteta if they fail to win a trophy | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Arsenal are in “active conversation” about renewing Mikel Arteta’s contract despite rumours he could be sacked.

The Gunners lost 2-1 to Bournemouth on Saturday in a huge blow to their Premier League title chances, although their destiny still remains in their own hands.

Man City closed the gap to six points on leaders Arsenal on Sunday by beating Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and Pep Guardiola’s side still have a game in hand on the Gunners.

The real potential turning point could be this coming Sunday when Arsenal travel to face Man City in the Premier League in what is being billed as a “title decider”.

Arsenal have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, losing the Carabao Cup final to Man City and crashing out the FA Cup to Championship side Southampton.

That has led to some fans to call for Arteta to be replaced and a report over the weekend revealed that the Spaniard’s ‘credit is running out’ and that he will ‘not continue at Arsenal next season’ if they fail to win the Premier League or Champions League.

But now Romano has claimed that Arsenal are actually looking to renew Arteta’s contract, not sack him, but the focus remains on what is happening on the pitch.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Arsenal are in conversation, in active conversation, with Arteta’s lawyer already since January and February to discuss a new contract.

“So there are contract talks ongoing between Arsenal and Arteta. But the club and the manager decided together to focus on the pitch first. There is a Champions League quarter-final return leg, there is the Premier League title race, and they decided to keep the contract situation calm for now.

“At the end of the season, in the summer, they will restart the conversation. Length of the contract, salary, all the usual topics when it is about a new deal. So the talks have already started around January and February, and the trust between Arsenal and Arteta remains total.”

Responding to some fans asking for Arteta to be sacked, former Watford striker Troy Deeney said on CBS Sports: “They’re not going to sack him because he has moved that club astronomically forward from where it was, they’re always in contention now and being spoken about as one of the best teams in world football, and rightly so.

“But this is why Arsenal fans… this is why I love you, and why you love me, because when it’s right and when they’re winning they’re hammering me, now… ‘sack him’?! He’s top of the league, they’re in the Champions League, now it’s, ‘sack him, get rid of him’. Who are you going to bring in?

“I just want to ask you this question Arsenal fans, remember before [they said] they didn’t have any strikers? Gyokeres, Havertz and Jesus all played today, I said he [Gyokeres] would score in these games, it’s the big games that matter, has he scored against Liverpool yet, has he scored against Man City yet?”