Juventus

Juventus won’t let manager leave to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal this summer

Published Jan. 31, 2017 1:37 p.m. ET

Aaron West

With Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's contract expiring at the end of the season and his future in the air, rumors are swirling around his possible replacement. Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri's name has repeatedly popped up as an option, but according to Allegri and Juventus' general manager Giuseppe Marotta? He's going nowhere.

“I’m with Juve. I’m happy here and I want to continue as long as that is also what the club wants,” said Allegri, when asked by the press about the link to Arsenal.

Allegri was hastily hired as Juventus coach after Antonio Conte abruptly left the team during pre-season in 2014, and he's been in charge of the Bianconeri ever since. He wasn't the fans' first choice, or really even high on most supporters' list, but he promptly led Juventus to another league title and the Champions League final. Since then, he's picked up another league title, a Coppa Italia trophy, and taken Juve to the Champions League quarterfinals. He's already signed two contract extensions during his time at Juventus, with the latest tying him to the club through 2018.

“The coach has another year and a half on his contract,” Marotta said during an appearance on TMW Radio.

“There’s a good relationship between us. He’s happy with us and we’re happy with him, it’s a marriage which can happily continue."

In Juventus' last match against Sassuolo, Argentine starlet Paulo Dybala re-sparked the rumors of Allegri's exit by refusing his handshake after being substituted, but Marotta says it's not an issue.

“It was a small and insignificant gesture, football is full of these things. We have to look at the whole context, he’s an important player and a great professional," said the man responsible for bringing in the bulk of Juventus' current team.

“We know his character, he wasn’t being disrespectful to the Coach, but a protest at the fact he couldn’t get a goal. These things are very normal in football.”

Things can change quickly in this game, so it's naive to say Allegri couldn't leave Juventus at the end of the season. But if the words of those involved are to be trusted, it's a safe bet he'll be at Juventus for the foreseeable future.

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