The rumour mills have been spinning, and Antonio Conte has been linked with the top job at Arsenal. However, his representative Federico Pastorello has doused the fires of any verbal agreement between Arsenal and his client.
Arsenal are currently in a puddle of mud with the club rooted at the bottom of the log after three matches. The North London side are looking dishevelled at the moment. It is perhaps their worst start to a season since the 1953/54 season.
The Gunners have played three Premier League matches and lost all three without scoring a goal and conceding nine in the process. The puddle rarely gets deeper than this, and it has put Arteta's job on the line.
The clock is ticking, and the gaffer has to find a way to extricate his side from this puddle. Arteta is in a fight and doesn't have the shoes for it.
The club's current form is relegation fodder, and one wonders how long the management would stick with the Spaniard at the helm.
No agreement - all but rumours
After Arsenal lost its third match of the season, the rumour mill was agog with news of Arteta's impending sack. Social media was filled with stories that Arteta had till October to get Arsenal out of trouble or be fired. The rumours also claimed that a verbal pre-deal had been agreed with the former Inter Milan gaffer to take over once Arteta was fired. These rumours have been existing since the very start of the season, when the Gunners were supposedly interested in a double swoop for Antonio Conte and Lautaro Martinez.
Federico Pastorello, Conte's representative, has poured cold water on the news describing it as baseless and without merit.
With Arteta under pressure, it didn't take long for the rumours to start flying, and Conte, who is currently out of a managerial role, was seen as the right tool to feed Arteta's sack. The rumours have been debunked, but Arteta is living a charmed life.
Conte on a different path
Conte helped Inter Milan to win their first league title in nine years but quit his role as manager. He had failed to get assurances that the team will remain competitive in the market.
The club told the former Chelsea manager that he had to cut the wage bill so the club could clear some debt, and they were unlikely to splash the cash.
That didn't rub off well on Conte, and he walked the plank.
Speaking to journalist Freddie Paxton, Federico Pastorello said that rumours of a pre-deal are untrue. He also confirmed that Conte had taken a different path by taking on a role with Sky Italia as a pundit. The punditry news was confirmed on Twitter by Gianluca Di Marzio.
Conte had held talks with Tottenham after Jose Mourinho's departure, but negotiations yielded no results, and Nuno Espirito Santo got the job.
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