Arsenal have appointed former midfielder Mikel Arteta as their manager.
The 37-year-old won the FA Cup twice in a five-year career with the Gunners and succeeds fellow Spaniard Unai Emery, who was sacked in November.
Arteta had been working as a coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, joining the club in 2016 after retiring as a player.
Arsenal are 10th in the Premier League with 22 points.
Arsenal playmaker, Mesut Ozil, is expected to join Fenerbahce in January, according to Fotomac.
Ozil is unhappy at the Emirates and he could leave on a loan deal.
It is believed that a deal to bring the German to Turkey is “very close”.
Ozil joined Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2013 and has played over 200 times for the Gunners.
The news comes amid speculation that captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is desperate to leave the Emirates, as the club prepares to announce Mikel Arteta as their new manager.
Arteta’s first job will be to convince some of the club’s biggest players, including Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka, to buy into his project and commit their long-term futures to Arsenal.
Aubameyang is unsettled at Arsenal and considering a move away when the transfer window opens in January.
Manchester City are yet to agree compensation with Arsenal that would allow the Gunners to name Mikel Arteta as their new manager.
Arsenal are finalising the paperwork for City’s assistant manager, 37, to replace Unai Emery.
Arteta was at Oxford on Wednesday night for City’s Carabao Cup quarter-final but it is expected Arsenal will be able to appoint him later this week.
However, City are growing increasingly agitated by Arsenal’s conduct.
It is understood there has still not been formal contact between the clubs, with a seven-figure release clause yet to be agreed.
Arteta has kept Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola fully informed of the situation.
A Manchester City source said: “It’s surprising to hear that plans are being made by Arsenal to unveil our coach as their head coach on Friday on the basis that no contact has been made by the club to discuss this matter.”
Spaniard Mikel Arteta, in talks to be the next Arsenal coach, has “no experience” as a manager and will need help, former Gunners manager Arsene Wenger said on Wednesday.
Former Arsenal captain Arteta, assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, is the leading candidate to succeed Unai Emery at the London club.
This emerged after their chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, was pictured outside the 37-year-old’s house early on Monday.
Another of Wenger’s former players, Swede Freddie Ljungberg, is currently interim head coach, but looks set to be overlooked for the top job.
“I am an Arsenal supporter and at the moment I support the manager in charge and the manager in charge is Ljungberg. When Arteta will be in charge I will support Arteta,” said Wenger.
But the Frenchman, who won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during nearly 22 years in charge of the club, said he saw many positives in both men.
“He (Arteta) is intelligent, he has passion, he has knowledge, but Ljungberg (does) as well,” Wenger added.
“I believe that Arteta has certainly a great future, he has certainly learned a lot in his first position as an assistant coach and after that as well he will have to deal with the fact that he has no
experience at that level and he will have to get surrounded well.”
However, Wenger, 70, who left Arsenal in 2018, said the club needed to be smarter in their recruitment.
He added that it was not necessarily the case that they needed a lengthy period to get back to their best.
“When I left the club was in a very strong financial position and they bought many players in-between, they have not all worked out,” he said.
“I believe that it’s not a question of time. The change can be very efficient very quickly, it’s just about the right decision-making and that’s all that it’s about in football, it’s about good players.
“We speak about the success of Liverpool. Of course they have a great manager, but you have to say as well that in the last three to four years, they bought the right players.”
Last month, Wenger was appointed FIFA’s new chief of global football development and is in Doha observing the Club World Cup.
Arsenal have held a meeting with Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta to discuss their managerial vacancy.
Gunners chief executive Vinai Venkatesham is thought to have met the Spaniard in the north-west of England after both flew north following City’s 3-0 win at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
It is not known whether Arteta, 37, has been offered the chance to succeed Unai Emery, who was sacked in November.
City boss Pep Guardiola says he would not stop Arteta if he decided to leave.
After Arsenal’s latest defeat, interim manager Freddie Ljungberg – who has won once in five games since being appointed on 29 November – called for some clarity on the situation.
The Gunners are ninth in the Premier League, seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, after five victories in 17 matches this season.
Former midfielder Arteta, who made 149 appearances for Arsenal between 2011 and 2016, was linked with replacing Arsene Wenger at the Emirates in 2018 before the club appointed Emery.
He joined the City coaching staff in July 2016 after retiring as a player.
Mikel Arteta has agreed in principle to replace Arsene Wenger and become the new manager at Arsenal.
The former Gunners midfielder’s return to the club is set to be announced in the coming days as he prepares to replace Arsene Wenger.
While no contract has yet been signed, the announcement of Arteta’s return to the Emirates Stadium will be made in the coming days.
The Spaniard is currently assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and played a huge part in guiding them to their record-shattering Premier League title success this season.
Mikel Arteta has “all of the qualities” required to become Arsenal manager, their legendary former handler Arsene Wenger told Bein Sports.
The 36-year-old Spaniard — who played 150 matches under Wenger at Arsenal — is imbued with the spirt of the Gunners, added Wenger, although the Frenchman was at pains to say he didn’t wish to influence the board’s decision.
Arteta, presently an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at champions Manchester City, is one of several names that have been linked to filling the huge vacuum left after Wenger stepped down following 22 years in charge.
“He was a leader, has good passion for the game, knows the club and knows what is important at the club,” said Wenger.
“Overall he has the qualities but I don’t want to influence that publicly.
“I believe it is important they make their choice in an objective way and after that decision I will support him.”
Other names that have been mentioned include Massimiliano Allegri — though he says he would have to be fired to leave Italian champions Juventus — former Chelsea and Real Madrid handler Carlo Ancelotti, who reportedly last month turned down the chance to coach Italy, and Arsenal icon Patrick Vieira.
Arsenal — who finished without a trophy last season and failed to qualify for next term’s Champions League — are confident a new manager will be named before the World Cup begins on June 14.
Outgoing Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger says Mikel Arteta has “all of the qualities” needed to succeed him at Emirates.
Former captain Arteta is among the candidates to replace Wenger, who left at the end of the season after 22 years in charge.
Spaniard Arteta, 36, played 150 games for Arsenal and is currently a coach at champions Manchester City.
“He was a leader, has good passion for the game, knows the club and knows what is important at the club,” Wenger said.
Arteta, who has never managed a team, took up a role at City under manager Pep Guardiola in 2016.
Wenger, 68, said: “Overall he has the qualities but I don’t want to influence that publicly.
“I believe it is important they make their choice in an objective way and after made that decision I will support him.”
Arsenal have also contacted another former captain, Patrick Vieira, as part of the process to replace Wenger.
They remain confident of naming a successor before the World Cup begins on 14 June.
Wenger said he has not decided whether his next job will be as a manager or at boardroom level, having previously said he will continue to work in football following his Arsenal departure.
He also said it would be “difficult” to manage another team in England because of his time at Arsenal.
“The Premier League is the most attractive place to be, but managing in different cultures and environments is something that is very interesting,” he said.