Arteta, the former Arsenal midfielder, is assistant to Guardiola at City

Pep Guardiola has told would-be pursuers of Mikel Arteta that his assistant coach will stay at Manchester City, at least for the rest of the season.

Arteta has emerged as a leading candidate to replace either Unai Emery at Arsenal or Marco Silva at Everton. He played for both clubs before retiring to take up his position at City in 2016.

There is mounting concern in the Arsenal boardroom that the club are heading towards a fourth successive season without Champions League football. Arsenal are eighth in the Premier League and have won only one league game in the past two months.

They had looked at Arteta when Arsène Wenger departed at the end of the 2017-18 season before opting for the more experienced Emery,