Patrick Vieira and Brendan Rodgers have both played down talk that they could be in the running to take over from Arsene Wenger at the end of the season.

The media have linked both managers to the job in recent months, and that speculation only increased when Wenger announced his departure from the club on Friday morning. However, both have since come out to dispel the rumours a little.

Patrick Vieira

First, Vieira spoke to New York radio station WYNE. He admitted he was happy to hear his name linked to the club, but is happy where he is for now.

“I spent nine years at Arsenal, which makes the club really special for me,” he said (via Goal). “But that is not enough to coach the team.

“I am always flattered to hear my name linked with different football clubs. That is good for your ego but at the same time, I am happy here. We will see what will happen in the next couple of years.”

That doesn’t rule out the prospect entirely, but doesn’t make it look like it’s a done deal either.

Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers gave a similar sort of answer, claiming the job hasn’t really crossed his mind. He pointed to how well things were going at Celtic in an interview with BT Sport.

“Where there’s players and managers, there’s always lot of speculation,” he said. “For me, I’m extremely happy, I’ve got three years left on my contract after this year. The club have been brilliant to me since I came in, as have been the players. So I don’t think so much about it to be honest.”

The Rodgers rumours had grown particularly strong after Celtic major shareholder Dermot Desmond said the club wouldn’t stand in the manager’s way if he wanted to talk to Arsenal.

From the sounds of things though, Desmond said that out of respect for someone who is doing so well for them, not because he thinks an offer is actually forthcoming.

We’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out who will really take up the job.