Mikel Arteta is the man to take Arsenal forward in the post-Arsene Wenger era, club legend Ian Wright has argued.
Wenger will stand down from the club at the end of the season, and Wright, who was part of the Frenchman's first squad when he took over in 1996, believes that Arteta should be his replacement.
Numerous coaches have been linked with the role, including Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, who is the current favourite despite having played down the rumours, but the Gunners icon believes the 36-year-old is the standout candidate.
“I like the feel of Mikel Arteta,” he told BBC Sport. “You’ve got to take a chance on someone, they took a chance on Wenger.”
Arteta has no previous managerial experience but he has worked as an assistant coach at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, which Wright sees as a major bonus.
“He’s someone who knows the club, he’s worked under Pep for a couple of years and seen what he’s done,” he said. “I think those players need a bit of a kick up the backside and I think he might be the man to do it.”
During his playing career, in which he was a midfielder, Arteta turned out for Barcelona’s youth teams before making a permanent move to Rangers in Scotland, having spent a year on loan at Paris Saint-Germain.
After a brief spell at Real Sociedad, he spent six years at Everton before finishing his career with a five-year stint at the Gunners, playing 149 times under Wenger from 2011 until 2016.
He won the Scottish Premiership with Rangers in 2002-03 and the League Cup with the same side. In England, he secured the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2013-14, but that was his only major honour in 11 years with Premier League sides.
After retiring from the playing side he moved into coaching, with Guardiola taking him under his wing at City where the duo have guided the club to the Premier League title in 2017-18.
