As Arsene Wenger stepped down from the managerial post of Arsenal, after serving the club for 22 years, the immediate question arises that who would be the next manager for the Gunners.
Football news: He has all the qualities to become the manager, says Arsene Wenger
Mikel Arteta, who has been a former Arsenal midfield player from 2011-16, has agreed to return to his former club in the upcoming days as he wants to fill in the shoes of the manager, which is recently left vacant by Arsene Wenger.
According to a popular football website, Goal.com, no such contract has been yet signed between the club and Arteta, but the announcement that he is returning to the Emirates Stadium as manager might be made in the coming days.
The 36-year-old Spaniard is currently working under Pep Guardiola as an assistant coach for Manchester City, and has been a huge influence and guide for the team’s record-breaking Premier League title campaign this season.
Arteta is hugely complimented by Arsenal’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis, head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and new head of football relations Raul Sanllehi. Gazidis believes that a young coach like Arteta would bring radical changes suited according to the modern European football structure.
If Arteta comes to Arsenal, he would bring his own support staff with him, which means that Santi Cazorla might be a potential addition. The futures of Steve Bould and Jens Lehmann is still uncertain despite the fact that both of them have received offers to stay at Arsenal.
Previously it was thought that Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri would be replacing Wenger, but the former ruled himself out of the contention as he chose to remain at Juventus.
Luis Enrique, the former Barcelona coach, was also thought of as a replacement, but Sanllehi, who had known Enrique from his own time at Barcelona, have warned the Arsenal management that it is difficult to work with the 48-year-old Spaniard.
Arteta had played for Arsenal for four seasons and had appeared in 150 matches, scoring 16 goals and had 11 assists to his name.