Bombshell: John Terry reveals how Mikel Arteta almost ditched Arsenal for Premier League rival
John Terry has disclosed that Newcastle United approached both himself and Mikel Arteta to take over from Rafa Benitez in 2019.
At the time, the club was facing turmoil as Benitez chose not to renew his contract, citing frustration with the lack of ambition in the transfer market under former owner Mike Ashley.
Newcastle’s decision to appoint Steve Bruce, a former Sunderland manager, led to a wave of season ticket cancellations. The patience of Toon fans reached a tipping point, and thousands protested by boycotting matches at the Sports Direct tycoon’s club.
However, the situation might have unfolded differently if Newcastle had made a more ambitious appointment.
At the time, Terry and Arteta were in the early stages of their retirement from playing and were gaining experience as assistants to more seasoned managers.
The Chelsea legend was learning his managerial craft at Aston Villa, while Arteta was famously serving as Pep Guardiola’s apprentice at Manchester City. Interestingly, shortly after Newcastle appointed Bruce, Arteta would go on to become the manager of Arsenal just six months later.
Terry made this surprising admission while discussing his own managerial ambitions on the Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast: “I had the owners of Newcastle in my house. They flew down in a helicopter. We spoke, they spoke to Arteta, myself, and ended up going with Brucey.
“I look back now and, Jesus, some of the questions I was asked, I was miles off. I didn’t think about it, but it was such a good learning curve. I’m glad I didn’t get it because I was miles out of my depth. But that kind of poked the bear a bit for the next couple of interviews.”
Bombshell: John Terry reveals how Mikel Arteta almost ditched Arsenal for Premier League rival