It's official - Mikel Arteta is the new head coach of Arsenal.
The search for the next Arsenal manager took nearly three weeks, with the Gunners dismissing Unai Emery at the end of November.
Freddie Ljungberg was placed in charge on a temporary basis, but with results not improving the club moved to confirm a long-term replacement as soon as possible.
And that led them to former Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta, who as spent three-and-a-half years as assistant manager to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
“We met several top-class candidates and Mikel stood out to every single one of us as the perfect person for us," said head of football Raul Sanllehi.
"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.”
Arsenal director Josh Kroenke stated: "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.”
Arteta himself is delighted to join the club.
He said on the official website: "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.”
Arteta's first game in charge will be a trip back to his other former club Everton on Saturday lunch time, though it is unclear yet whether he will be in the stands or the dugout for the clash at Goodison Park.
