Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez sidesteps Arsenal job talk

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 20 April 2018

Rafael Benitez describes Newcastle United as "a massive club" but sidesteps speculation linking him with the Arsenal manager's job.

Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has remained coy over links to the Arsenal manager's job after it was confirmed that Arsene Wenger will vacate his position at the end of the season.

The Spaniard is seen as an outside choice to succeed Wenger following his impressive work at St James' Park, having guided the Magpies back to the Premier League from the Championship and into the top half.

Newcastle chiefs are reportedly in the process of putting together a new contract for fan favourite Benitez, who has once again sidestepped speculation that he is in the running to take charge at the Emirates Stadium in the summer.

"As I have said before, [Newcastle] is a massive club. My position now is the same - we have games to play, I want to be sure that we concentrate on that, and that's it," he told reporters at Friday's press conference.

"What I want is to be sure that we have a good team to play against Everton on Monday and that's it. It's not the time to talk about that."

United have won four matches in a row to all but confirm their place in the Premier League for another 12 months.