Newcastle United potential Rafa replacement: Mikel Arteta
Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man is one of the top betting favorites to take over at Newcastle United.
As Newcastle United included in their release on the Rafa Benitez departure, the process to find a successor is underway. There are a lot of different rumors and links to the soon-to-be vacant managerial position and we will continue to analyze potential options. For this article, we will take a look at one of the top betting favorites for the position, Manchester City assistant Mikel Arteta.
Previous candidate articles: Eddie Howe
The CV
Current club: Manchester City (assistant)
Previous club(s) managed: N/A
Playing career? Yes. He played as a midfielder for Barcelona’s reserve sides, PSG, Rangers, Everton, Real Sociedad, and Arsenal. He also featured for the Spanish national team youth sides.
The Experts’ Opinions
(On a scale of 1 to 5)
Durim Halimi: 4
Mikel Arteta is learning from one of the best managers in football history, Pep Guardiola, at Manchester City, but he will look to begin his own managerial career in the near future. The former Rangers, Everton and Arsenal midfielder joined Guardiola’s staff as an assistant manager in July of 2016. With three seasons of guidance from Guardiola under his belt, the current vacancy could be a great place for Arteta to start his career and implement some unique, attacking style of play on Tyneside.
Moreover, if the Bin Zayed Group finalize the takeover of the club, the Magpies would have a manager in Arteta who knows how to train and interact with potential big name players that would come through the door. His lack of experience as a primary manager raises concerns, but the potential is there and I think he is worth the risk.
Carson A. Merk: 3.5
There are two main lines of thinking when it comes to hiring Mikel Arteta. The first thought most people have is that he will bring Pep’s Manchester City style to your club. While he will likely bring a similar system, no disrespect to the Magpies’ roster, he would be managing a much less talented side. It’s easy to play the Man City style when you have a wealth of ELITE players, but it’s a far more daunting task when you have an average squad with a limited budget to improve it. The other line of thinking is that he would be a first time manager. He has served as an assistant on one of Europe’s top sides, but it is an entirely different story when you are running the show. There are examples of first time managers experiencing success and there are others that flamed out in their first opportunity in the driver’s seat.
light. Related Story. The Rafalution is over
Personally, I’m a fan of hiring/signing for potential. I would much rather hire a promising manager for their first head coaching gig than bring in a retread of the Premier League like Big Sam or Alan Pardew. If you decide on Arteta, hopefully he brings an experienced staff with him and they can have Newcastle United playing exciting, attacking soccer.