Arsene Wenger previously said Mikel Arteta has all the qualities needed to become Arsenal manager one day.
The former Gunners club captain joined Manchester City as Pep Guardiola's assistant manager after hanging up his boots at Arsenal in 2016 and has helped City win two Premier League titles since his arrival.
Arteta was among the frontrunners for the job at the Emirates Stadium after Wenger brought his two decade tenure to a close in May of last year but the Gunners would ultimately appoint Unai Emery.
But with the Arsenal boss' current struggles, reports have suggested the former midfielder is again a target with the Gunners board mulling over potential long term replacements.
football.london understands that Arteta was among 10 candidates originally interviewed for the job in 2018 and it was widely believed at the time that he had emerged as Ivan Gazidis' first-choice only for the then-CEO to opt for the more experienced option of Emery.
But at the time, Wenger had championed Arteta's claim for the role, and outlined the three key reasons the Spaniard would be a success.
Talking to beIN Sports , he said: "For Arteta, does he have all the qualities to do the job? Yes.
"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? But whoever they choose I will support.”
There has also been talk of the 37-year-old eventually succeeding Guardiola at the Etihad, and the City boss was quick to praise his young protege.
Asked during a press conference on Monday about his assistant's future, he said: "Unai Emery is the manager of Arsenal.
"[But] of course [Arteta] will be a manager sooner or later. We are going to finish the season but in the future I don't know what is going to happen.
"I would like him to stay with us. Manchester City has a person of incredible value to work here in the future. But professional desires are professional desires. Everyone is more than satisfied to have him here.
"He was an incredible player. The holding midfielder has a vision of what happens on the pitch. When you are a striker you think of the goals and 'keepers to save it.
"But I think that the holding midfielder is an incredible lesson during your period as a football player. You don't need to go to school.
"More than that he is an incredible human being and works a lot. I said after a few months together he would be a manager. He is already a manager - he behaves like a manager."
