Arteta to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City?

The past few seasons have been rough on Mikel Arteta. Persistent injuries have limited him to 11 starts and as many substitutions in all competitions over the past two seasons. It is of no surprised to see the Spanish midfielder headed for the door. Which makes news reports that Manchester City is prepared to snap up his services (and perfect hair) a bit of a shock.  But it appears they don't expect him to play.

The indubitable Sources Say have told numerous outlets that Pep Guardiola is looking to add Arteta to his coaching staff. Pep is expected to bring in his own coaching team as he assumes the helm at City next season and his offer to Arteta as a potential 1st team coach is an offer almost too good to be true. A rare player to coach transfer might be on the books.

While reaching out to a player with little to no coaching experience seems odd, Guardiola and Arteta are long time friends having both played through Barcelona's youth academy and, aside from Wenger, Pep is a major influence for Arteta's future in coaching. With Arsenal's own coaching offer unlikely to be with the 1st team, should this report pan out, we could be watching Arteta in the Sky Blue stands and perhaps leading a team of his own far sooner than anticipated. A career boost, I think we can agree, Arteta deserves ever since his legs left him.

Maybe he'll even become Wenger's future replacement.