Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has backed Mikel Arteta to succeed at Arsenal for the same reason Pep Guardiola thrived at Barcelona.
The Manchester City manager was a relative rookie when he took over from Frank Rijkaard at the La Liga giants in 2008, having only had one season of coaching with Barcelona B. However, he won an incredible 14 trophies in four years in charge there to create a legacy at the club whose academy he came through.
Solskjaer was turned to by United a year ago, initially on a temporary basis, as the club sought a new direction following the high-profile sacking of Jose Mourinho. The former United player instantly galvanised the squad to such an extent that he was given a three-year contract in March 2019.
Arsenal hope Mikel Arteta can return to the Emirates and make their club recognisable again. Freddie Ljungberg has been unable to stop their listless slide this season since stepping in for Unai Emery and a feeble performance in the 3-0 defeat to City last weekend accelerated the club's pursuit of Arteta.
As Arsenal look set to finalise compensation with the Blues and announce Arteta as their next permanent manager, Solskjaer spoke about the importance of understanding the club you are in charge of.
"If you know the DNA and culture of the club, if you've been here especially in periods when the club's done well, you see what the culture is," he said.
"I think that's important, build on what's been going well and improve on what you think should be improved.
"Guardiola is probably the best example, what he did with the Barcelona team."
