Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been linked with switch to Real Madrid (Picture: Getty)

Rio Ferdinand has ‘heard’ that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta ‘is looking to go to Real Madrid’ if Carlo Ancelotti leaves the Spanish club in the summer.

It is rumored that Real Madrid will part ways with Ancelotti at the end of the season unless he can deliver the Champions League trophy for the second year in a row, with Los Blancos miles behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Ancelotti has been linked with various other jobs, and if he does indeed depart, Real Madrid will look to poach Arsenal boss Arteta, according to reports.

Arteta has been in charge of Arsenal since 2019 and despite enduring a tricky spell after winning the FA Cup, he is now adored by Gunners fans, with the club enjoying a fantastic 2022-23 season so far and sitting top of the Premier League.

Arsenal have just seven games left as they look to secure their first top-flight title in 19 years but Ferdinand has warned Arteta already has one eye on Real Madrid.

‘You’ve got to keep Arteta, first and foremost,’ Ferdinand said with a smile and a laugh when speaking about the Gunners on his podcast.

‘I heard something… I heard that Real Madrid [are interested] and when they come knocking your players will be coachless.

Carlo Ancelotti is keen to stay but Real Madrid may part ways with him this summer (Picture: Getty)

‘I heard Ancelotti, Don Carlo, the eyebrow, he might be getting off, and that Arteta is looking to go to Real Madrid. That’s the rumour on the streets. The streets are talking.’

Former Arsenal man Emmanuel Petit, meanwhile, has urged Arteta to stay in north London and says it will be a ‘mistake’ if he departs for Real Madrid.

‘I think it would be a mistake for him to leave Arsenal and go to Madrid right now,’ Petit told Compare.bet.

‘He has improved so much in the last three years. Remember when he was first appointed, his first few months were very difficult.

‘Arsenal were in the relegation zone and the board gave him time to execute his vision and do exactly what he wanted with the team both individually and collectively, now we’re all applauding the way Arsenal are playing right now.

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‘Arteta needs to play with Arsenal in the Champions League first, then we will see what could happen after that.

‘Madrid is a huge, huge club and you need to get a manager that has already won big titles and can manage their dressing room.

‘There are so many big egos, so many big players over there. With all due respect to Arsenal, it’s not the same club.’

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‘That’s the rumour on the streets…’