Arteta unveiled as Arsenal manager
Last updated on: 21 December,2019 09:39 am
Arteta made 149 appearances for Arsenal between 2011 and 2016.
LONDON (Reuters) - New Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he was confident he would have the London club challenging for top honours again and asked for patience after being appointed head coach on a 3-1/2 year contract.
Arteta, who made 149 appearances for Arsenal between 2011 and 2016 before joining Manchester City’s coaching staff as Pep Guardiola’s assistant, replaces fellow Spaniard Unai Emery at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are 10th in the Premier League table, seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, after five victories in 17 matches this season and travel to 16th-placed Everton for Saturday’s (December 21) early kickoff.
Emery was sacked last month after Arsenal’s 2-1 Europa League home defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt which extended their winless run in all competitions to seven games, their worst streak since February 1992 under George Graham.
Arteta, who has never managed a club before, was named by British media as one of the candidates in the running to replace former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger in 2018 before the club appointed Emery.
The 37-year-old has enjoyed great success at City, assisting Pep Guardiola as he guided the club to successive league titles.