Mikel Arteta could shake things up when he’s appointed Arsenal head coach.
It would appear that the Gunners have finally found a replacement for Unai Emery – just under three weeks and five games after sacking the former Paris Saint-Germain boss following a poor run of form.
And in his place is set to be another Spaniard.
Latest reports claim that Arteta’s return to the Emirates Stadium after he finishes up his duties as Manchester City assistant head coach against Oxford United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Once the 37-year-old is named as the new permanent Arsenal head coach, he will be tasked with preparing the team for Saturday afternoon’s Premier League clash against Everton.
But what can fans expect from Arteta at the helm?
In terms of a tactical plan, that will become clear once the whistle blows at Goodison Park but the Spaniard does have his preferred idea for what a captain should be.
Prior to retiring from football three years ago, Arteta sat down to discuss Per Mertesacker succeeding him as captain and it was there where he outlined what makes a good candidate to wear the armband.
“You don’t come across people in football so honest, so loyal and so professional like Per,” Arteta told Arsenal Media in 2016.
“I trust him 100%, he’s shown more than enough to me that he’s got all the ability as a person and as a teammate to be a captain of the club.
“For me he’s very important because I can ask him anything, I try to share with him, I try to have a word because I really like the way he sees things and the way he behaves.
“And I’m lucky to have someone like him next to me.”
The captaincy has been a big issue at Arsenal this season Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang inherited the armband from Granit Xhaka following the latter’s outburst towards supporters against Crystal Palace.
But the Gunners skipper is reportedly expected to ‘feel Arteta’s wrath’ early on after his brother posted a message on Instagram criticising his appointment.
