Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has admitted he is excited by the prospect of Mikel Arteta leading Arsenal, as he believes he can bring the Johan Cruyff education to the club.
Arteta has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Gunners, moving to become head coach after three years as assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
The Spaniard does not have any managerial experience in his career thus far but has earned a wealth of experience during his time at City with Guardiola.
While he has not directly played under his compatriot, Keown identified the lessons he would have learnt, pointing out that Guardiola had his education under Cruyff.
"There was always a quality about Arsenal, the marble halls, it was classy and we've really got to get that back quickly. I think he's got a big job ahead of him," he told talkSPORT.
"I’m quite excited about the prospect of him because of who he has worked with.
"I know he hasn’t got the managerial experience and that’s the worry but let's look at some of the positives of what he has got.
"That think tank that he has been a part of with Guardiola, they know how to press, how to defend in groups, he has got all of that at his fingertips. But is he a good educator, can he get that message across, can he motivate?
"He has to go in and sort it out. The team are quite fragile from a defensive point of view, it’s the whole team and they don’t know how to press. Those players have got to pick things up quickly.
"There won’t be that magic wand but there will be lots of training ground sessions where he can get that across. He also needs to sort out the Xhaka and the Ozil issues, will they be a part of the future?
"There’s a lot for him to work on but I do think in time this could be, it’s a gamble and there’s no big managers out there, this is the next kid on the block and he’s coming out of the same group, with Guardiola following on from Cruyff.
"He didn’t play for these managers but they he has the same education."
