Arsenal Transfer News: Arsene Wenger Talks Mikel Arteta, Manchester City Rumours

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed it is "possible" Gunners captain Mikel Arteta will join Manchester City in the summer to be part of Pep Guardiola's coaching staff.

The Spanish midfielder is out of contract at the Emirates in the summer and looks set to move on after five years at the north London club.

Wenger said the "door is always open" at Arsenal if players want to move into coaching but admitted there was definitely a chance Arteta, 34, could opt to join Guardiola when he takes over at City in the summer, per Jack Lang in the Mirror: "It’s possible. He is able to inform you much better than I. The door is always open [at Arsenal] for players to get their coaching licenses."

It seems as though Arteta's playing career is all but over, although Wenger insisted he still has the "physical level" to continue, per Arsenal:

He has played only 160 minutes of Premier League football in 2015-16, as injuries and squad competition have kept him out of the first team, per WhoScored.com.

The likes of Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny and Aaron Ramsey are now the first-choice central midfielders at Arsenal, and Arteta has really only been a squad player for a while now.

Dominic King in the Daily Mail recently reported that the former Everton star has received "a firm offer" from Guardiola to join the coaching setup at the Etihad.

King added that the pair have been friends since they were at Barcelona together in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Guardiola was a first-team player and Arteta an academy member.

It is likely they could work well together, and Arteta would be able to provide Guardiola with Premier League knowhow the former Barca manager currently lacks.

Wenger did not rule out the possibility of Arteta joining the Arsenal staff, but he did hint that it was unlikely, per the Evening Standard's James Olley:

Thus, it looks as though he will be on his way out the door in the summer and most likely up to Manchester to join Premier League rivals City.