Arsenal would have to pay at least £1m in compensation to Manchester City to hire Mikel Arteta, according to reports.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Mikel Arteta, Manchester City coach looks on prior to the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on November 29, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 29: Mikel Arteta, Manchester City coach looks on prior to the Premier League match between Manchester City and Southampton at Etihad Stadium on November 29, 2017, in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

The Guardian report that City won’t stand in the way of Arteta if both he and Arsenal are keen to make him their new head coach this week. It’s going to cost the Gunners though.

Arteta still has a contract for another 18 months. As a result, City want at least £1m in compensation to release him from it. They’re also not hiding the fact they’ll monitor his progress in case he does well in North London and they want him back.

This is all fairly standard for a coach moving between two top clubs. City wouldn’t exactly set a good precedent cancelling Arteta’s contract for free.

At the same time, it does seem as though City are a bit put out by Arsenal’s handling of the situation.

David Ornstein reports that the Gunners still haven’t made contact with City directly and didn’t mention the move for Arteta when their opponents were in London for the match over the weekend.

Perhaps Arsenal wanted to keep their pursuit of Arteta quiet. As soon as they spoke to a City representative the media would surely find out. Unfortunately, their attempts at secrecy went out the window with the photos on Monday morning.

This is the second year in a row we’ve had a bit of a media circus around Arsenal hiring Arteta.

You’d think it’s now or never for the appointment as a result. The City assistant surely won’t take kindly to two rounds of public embarrassment just for Arsenal to look elsewhere.