Brazil manager Tite has apologised to amid speculation he is being lined up to succeed Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners are hopeful that their former captain will sign an extension to a contract that is due to expire in the summer of 2023.
Calls for Arteta to be sack intensified at the start of the season as the Gunners lost three consecutive matches, including defeats to newly promoted Brentford and a 5-0 hammering at .
The former Arsenal captain has since masterminded an eye-catching revival based around a young, enthusiastic players, including academy graduates Bukayo Saka and .
Summer signings Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard have also caught the eye and a return to the Champions League after a five-year absence is now a distinct possibility.
Arsenal’s upturn in fortunes is said to have alerted the likes of Paris Saint-Germain while Manchester City have always viewed Arteta as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola given he served as his compatriot’s assistant for three-and-a-half years.
Reports last week, meanwhile, linked 60-year-old Tite with Arsenal but the long-serving Brazil head coach, who has worked with the Gunners’ technical director Edu in the past, has denied a deal has already been agreed.
He said: ‘Sorry, Arsenal. Sorry, Arteta: It is not a situation. It didn’t come from us.
‘At a time of so much “fake news”, information that is not true makes me sad and I hope that this is corrected.
‘My family can rest easy because I have dignity and great respect for the Brazilian team.
‘My feeling is very sad and I get sad because information is passed to the public that is a lie.
‘I tell people who feel identified with me to be calm, because Tite has a personal attitude that values his professional activity and knows of the responsibility with the Brazilian team.’
Arsenal return to Premier League action next Monday when they take on a Crystal Palace side who have proved obdurate opponents in the recent past.
An injury-time equaliser from Alexandre Lacazette earned Arsenal a point following a 2-2 draw back in October, but Arsenal are likely to represent an altogether different challenge for the Eagles now.
A reinvigorated Arteta turned 40 last week and remains the youngest manager in the Premier League, even if it doesn’t always feel that way.
He said: ‘Yeah, I feel really young to be fair because I am surrounded by a lot of young people.
‘The players are younger than me of course, but some of the people I work with are older than me and they have all the right responsibilities at the club.
‘So I’m surrounded by a lot of young energy, a lot of enthusiasm and as well people with more experience so it’s a good mixture. I feel like I am in the prime of my life. I have three beautiful kids who are growing up, I have a wife who I’m totally in love with and a family who are always there for me, in the difficult moments.’
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