Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of Mikel Arteta as their new permanent manager on a three-and-a-half-year deal.
The 37-year-old was a former midfielder at the club and won the FA Cup twice in a five-year career with the Gunners, while he succeeds fellow Basque Unai Emery – who was sacked last month.
Arteta has been working as a senior coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City since his retirement from his playing career in the summer of 2016.
Freddie Ljungberg had been in interim charge of the North London club since Emery’s dismissal but he had failed to bring about a change in fortunes on the pitch.
“We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game," Arteta has told club media.
“That's been made very clear to me in my discussions with [owners] Stan and Josh Kroenke and the senior people from the club.”
The former central midfielder has been long-term linked to the Arsenal job – he was reportedly in the running to replace Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2018 and is now rumoured to be in-line to replace Unai Emery – who was appointed 18 months ago.
Arteta enjoyed a successful playing career in the UK with stints at Glasgow Rangers, Everton and Arsenal before moving to Guardiola’s coaching staff when he was appointed at the club in 2016.
However, the Gunners are in disarray – with just one win in their last 12 matches in all competitions and languishing in mid-table in the Premier League.
