Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has delivered his verdict on Unai Emery's return to management.
It was confirmed on Thursday morning that the former Valencia and Sevilla boss has been appointed as the new Villarreal head coach ahead of the 2020/21 season.
This marks Emery's first managerial job since being dismissed by the Gunners last summer after overseeing a poor start to the current campaign.
Of course, Emery's replacement at the Emirates Stadium is Arteta.
And while there has been some suggestions that Arteta walked into a mess created by Emery, he has thanked his predecessor for one thing he did during his 18-month spell.
"First of all congratulations for the new job," Arteta said in his pre-Watford press conference. "He's going back to Spain, he's a manager that has a lot of experience in there and has been very successful there.
"We wish him all the best from our side, there are a lot of people who like him a lot and have huge respect for him.
"Thanks from my side for what he did here with the players and trying to improve the team and the squad.
"We wish him all the best from our side and hopefully things will go well for him."
Interestingly, Emery replaces Javier Calleja, who left Villarreal last week after leading them to a fifth-place finish in La Liga this season, ensuring qualification for the Europa League.
Therefore, Emery could come up against the Gunners next season.
Although for that to happen Arteta's side must beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final a week on Saturday as their hopes of a top-six finish were ended against Aston Villa.
