Reports: Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s Vinai Venkatesham meet following loss to Manchester City

If reports coming out of England today are to be believed, it appears that talks with former Arsenal player Mikel Arteta have heated up as the Gunners search for a new full-time manager could come to an end in the coming days.

While the Arteta-to-Arsenal rumors are nothing new, it took an interesting turn on Sunday as Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s chief executive, was spotted leaving Arteta’s house in Manchester just hours after Arsenal’s embarrassing loss to Manchester City at the Emirates.

Manchester is not a quick jaunt from London, which leads me to believe that Vinai was not in the neighborhood and stopping in for a pint and a chat.

This development comes less than a week after David Ornstein tweeted out an update on Arsenal’s manager search process, hinting that they wanted to make a choice as soon as possible.

Arteta has long been linked with Arsenal, supposedly being Arsenal’s second choice after Unai Emery following the departure of Arsene Wenger in the spring of 2018. He has spent the last few seasons under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, and despite any previous head managerial experience, he leads the growing list of candidates for Arsenal’s vacant managerial position.

Arsenal twitter has, of course, taken this news with their trademark even-handedness and composure. However, Sunday’s decimation at the hands of city continued to shine a glaring light at the reality of the club - no manager is going to fix it overnight.

Stay posted for updates.