Arsenal appoint former captain Mikel Arteta as their new manager
Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of former captain Mikel Arteta as their new head coach.
The Spaniard has signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the Gunners, beginning on Sunday following their game against Everton.
Arteta replaces Unai Emery, who was sacked following a poor run of form that left Arsenal trailing in the race for the top-four.
He had been working as an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but now embarks upon his first job in management.
On his move, Arteta said: "This is a huge honour. Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game and that’s been made very clear to me in my discussions with Stan and Josh Kroenke, and the senior people from the club.
"We all know there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that but I am confident we’ll do it. I’m realistic enough to know it won’t happen overnight but the current squad has plenty of talent and there is a great pipeline of young players coming through from the academy."
Arsenal director Josh Kroenke added: "We’re delighted to be bringing Mikel back to Arsenal.
"He knows our expectations and those of our fans around the world are high and we are confident he can play a lead role in taking the club back to the levels we all demand.
"I also want to thank Freddie Ljungberg for skilfully guiding us through the last three weeks. He stepped up at short notice and has helped us through this difficult period with great professionalism."
The Gunners have paid their Premier League rivals £2m in compensation to secure Arteta's services.
It is understood that the new Arsenal manager gave an emotional speech to the players and staff at City on Thursday before travelling down to London to complete the formalities of his move back to the Emirates.
As a player at the club, Arteta won the FA Cup in 2013/14 and then again in 2014/15 - captaining the side for their first success in the final against Hull.
Arsene Wenger, who was the manager while Arteta was at the club, has previously said that his former midfielder would be suitable for the role.
"Does he have all the qualities to do the job? Yes," he told The Guardian in 2018.
"He was a leader and he has a good passion for the game and he knows the club well.
"He knows what is important at the club and he was captain of the club. So why not?"
Guardiola gave Arteta backing
Pep Guardiola expects Mikel Arteta to "do an excellent job" as Arsenal's new manager.
"He decided to move there. You know when you have dreams," Guardiola said.
"You cannot stop it. Follow your dreams and Arsenal was a big part of his career as a football player and he's back at home.
"That's important to him and (Arsenal are) one of the best teams in England
"We wish him all the best. I'm pretty sure he will do an excellent job."
Nicholas supports Arteta appointment
Speaking to Sporting Life prior to the appointment, Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas believes that the Gunners are making the right decision with Arteta.
"Arteta has had three-and-a-half seasons working under Pep Guardiola and he knows the fabric of Arsenal," he stated.
"They spoke to him before Unai Emery but they weren’t prepared to meet his demands.
"He is being offered one of the bets jobs in the world, and he stuck to his guns laid his cards on the table - I love a decision-maker.
"He is a leader, he has been Arsenal captain before, I like his authority and his passion."
Arsenal not fancied for success this season
Despite the appointment of a manager who has experience with the club, the North London side are not backed to earn a trophy this season.
Sky Bet make it 7/2 that they lift a trophy at the end of the current campaign - with the FA Cup or Europa League their most realistic option.
On the flip side, it's currently 50/1 that they win both of the above mentioned competitions, and to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League stands at an eye-watering 10,000/1.
Arsenal face Sky Bet Championship high fliers Leeds in the FA Cup which puts them at 12/1 to win at Wembley in May.
The Europa League round of 32 takes them to Greek giants Olympiakos - and Arteta's men are 8/1 to win Europe's second competition.
Arteta's in-tray
The PA news agency looks at some of the issues the Spaniard will have to deal with at Arsenal.
A case for the defence
One of Arsenal's weaknesses for over a decade has been their defence but long-serving manager Arsene Wenger and Emery failed to deal with the obvious flaws, which has seen the club fall from title challengers to struggling in their fight for a top-six finish in the Premier League. The recruitment of centre-backs Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz in recent seasons have only exacerbated the problem and Arteta needs to get a grip on the backline before he can start working on improving further up the field.
Style or substance?
Arsenal fans were spoilt during Wenger's 22-year reign when he brought silverware by playing attractive football. His style of play remained intact, which pleased the Gunners faithful, but the fanbase grew tired of a lacking title challenge towards the latter stages of his tenure. However, under Emery the attacking style faded as did the results, so the question for Arteta is does he want instant results - which the club desperately needs - or does he push for his brand of football which may prolong those results from happening?
Find a system and stick with it
Emery's demise at the Emirates was due to a lack of tactical stability throughout his stay. He constantly tinkered with different varieties of a back-four formation before changing to a three-man defence, only to swiftly revert back to his initial plan. Interim boss Freddie Ljungberg fell victim to this during his five-match spell in caretaker charge and it would be clearer to the players and fans if they stuck to one system which they can try to perfect, ideally with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette playing together in attack.
Instil a winning mentality
Under Guardiola, Arteta has been part of the coaching staff with two Premier League-winning teams which also included City's historic domestic clean sweep last season. The Spaniard won two FA Cups during his time as a player at Arsenal and could provide some leadership which has been desperately lacking for a long time at the Gunners, both on and off the field. Arsenal reached the Europa League final in May under Emery but fell to a crushing 4-1 defeat to Chelsea, extending Arsenal's trophy drought to three years. Arteta inherits a team which has won just once in their last 12 matches in all competitions.
Sort the Mesut Ozil conundrum
Everyone can see the ability that the former Germany international possesses but he has not shown that on a consistent basis, especially since signing his mega three-and-a-half year deal in January 2018. Wenger loved him but Emery used him sparingly, so Arteta will have a decision to make. The Spaniard will either have to build a team around his former team-mate, or get him off the wage bill to get in players that he wants. Ozil's meltdown during the 3-0 home defeat to City on December 15, when he kicked his gloves as he was substituted in the 59th minute - in front of Arteta in the opposition dugout - will not have gone unnoticed either.
Get full potential out of players
One positive during Emery's reign was the amount of academy players who broke into the first-team picture. The likes of Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe and more recently Bukayo Saka have had valuable minutes over the last 12 months but none have secured regular starting positions. Brazilian youngster Gabriel Martinelli has also looked promising during his first season at the club and if Arteta can get a tune out of Lucas Torreira and Nicolas Pepe, Arsenal do have a squad capable of competing for trophies - provided he is given money to improve his options.
Odds correct at 1325 GMT (20/12/19)