Why was he begging?

Had something happened? Were the rumours about Mikel Arteta taking over from Arsene Wenger starting to grow?

Was there more credibility to them now?

Now sometimes, I know, subheads set headlines that are a little naughty and don’t bear any reflection of the piece they top.

So, did the author of the piece, Martin Blackburn, set up that headline with his article? Well his intro reads, “FERNANDINHO is praying Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta is not lured back to Arsenal this summer.”

It would seem so.

Not only is Fernadinho ‘begging’, he’s ‘praying’ also.

Clearly Fernandinho must have said something quite impressive to be accused of both ‘begging’ and ‘praying’.

Well, not exactly…

“One of the positive things about Pep is that he is so close with his staff – they support him in every situation,” he said.

“And we as players have huge contact with them. For me, especially Mikel Arteta, because he played in the same position as I play.

“So sometimes I have private chats with him to correct some positions, or something that is wrong.

“All the people are behind Pep and it is fantastic. That is why we are a very good team – it’s not just the players and the manager, but also the staff.

“Mikel has helped to improve me a lot this season, with his advice.”

Ivan Gazidis did, reportedly, meet with three managers before Arsene Wenger made his announcement last month.

Were any of them Mikel Arteta?

Read on to find out…