After Arsenal sacked Unai Emery at the end of last month, Mikel Arteta was appointed as their new manager on December 20th.
The Spaniard will be on the touchline for the first time when the north London club face AFC Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
Having finished his playing career with Arsenal in 2016, Arteta joined Manchester City the same summer and was working as an assistant to Pep Guardiola until last week.
This means the 37-year-old has not managed a single game so far in his career, but that has not stopped him from being monitored by Barcelona, according to Sport.
‘Arteta, another one to follow’ reads a headline in today’s edition of the Catalan newspaper.
They start the report by stating it’s ‘customary to settle any debate about a hypothetical Valverde substitute with the conclusion that there are no coaches trained to take Barça football to another level.’ 
Sport then talks about Barca leaders’ ability to bet on those managers who have not proved themselves so far and cite Guardiola’s appointment in 2008 as an example.
Arteta trained at La Masia and Sport suggests his task is not just to get Arsenal back on top, but also understand how the managerial role works.
The report further adds Barca ‘would do well to follow him closely’, but that doesn’t mean he is a firm managerial target for them.
