Ex-Arsenal assistant coach Steve Round has dispelled the rumours that he left Mikel Arterta, because he signed David Raya. Round left the Gunner in the summer of 2023 and worked with Arteta for years, with reports stating that the signing of Raya, who took over from Aaron Ramsdale, was the last straw for him. But, while speaking in Footy Accumulators’ No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, the former assistant coach stated that those claims were untrue and he just needed a change of location. “I read a piece about that and that’s completely untrue, it’s a load of rubbish. “There were no arguments or differences of opinion or anything like that. When I first went in with Mikel, I said to him, when the time is right, I think I’ll need to move on when it suits us both. “We had a discussion in that summer (2023) and we said, I think it’s time that I went and we were both in agreement with each other. “I think I needed to step away from it and have a break. I’ve been on the front line for nearly 30 years and it was tough. “And I think he (Arteta) needed to refresh his staff as well and promote a couple of younger coaches. I’d moved more into the technical director sphere, which is what I’m looking at right now. So I just felt it was the right time. The Gunners are having a fantastic season so far and Round believes Arteta’s side can go all the way this year and lift their first Premier League title in over 20 years. “You look at the team now, there’s men all the way through the team who are physical, strong, aggressive, superb on set pieces. They can score a wide range of goals, and I think they’ll push right to the end this year. “I know there’s a nine-point gap now, but that can easily whittle away. If Liverpool lose (Mohamed) Salah or (Virgil) Van Dijk, the whole thing can change really quickly. It will go right down to the wire this season.”
