EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal confirm Mikel Arteta appointment as Unai Emery replacement
Arsenal sack Unai Emery last month and have appointed former player Mikel Arteta as Emery’s replacement. Arteta played five consecutive seasons for Arsenal from 2011 to May 2016.
Arteta was the assistant manager for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, and a statement on Arsenal official website on Friday afternoon confirmed Arteta’s appointment. “We’re delighted to announce Mikel Arteta is joining the club as our head coach on Sunday.”
Arteta expressed his delight after completing his coming back to Arsenal as he refers his appointment as an “honour”. He has also set sight on helping Arsenal win trophies.
“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 when speaking on behalf of the Arsenal board and owners Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, “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.”
Arsenal Head of football Raul Sanllehi also shared his though on Arteta’s appointment, believing the former Manchester City assistant boss was the favorite candidate among those managers who contested in bid to replace Unai Emery. The Head of football also pay tribute to Freddie Ljungberg and Per Mertesacker for their good work done at Emirates Stadium.
“We met several top-class candidates and Mikel stood out to every single one of us as the perfect person for us. Mikel understands Arsenal Football Club and what it means to our fans around the world. We look forward to him getting down to work and bringing the best out of our squad as we work to get our season back on track.
“I must also pay tribute to Freddie Ljungberg for his hard work and leadership. Together with Per Mertesacker, he has done a vital job for us in difficult circumstances. Freddie and Per are important parts of the Arsenal family and care deeply for this club.”
Arteta will watch Arsenal’s tomorrow early kick-off clash against Everton from the stands before he begins his official training with the players on Monday.
