Ex-Arsenal player Arteta becomes London club head coach

Mikel Arteta was an Arsenal midfielder from 2011 to 2016, inks 3.5-year-deal with Gunners

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - English Premier League club Arsenal hired their former player Mikel Arteta as their new head coach on Friday.

"We're delighted to announce Mikel Arteta is joining the club as our head coach on Sunday... Mikel, a former club captain, played for us for five seasons from 2011 to 2016 and has signed a three-and-a-half year contract," Arsenal said on their website.

"This is a huge honour. Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world... We all know there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that but I am confident we’ll do it," Arteta, 37, from Spain said.

During his football career, Arteta played for Scottish team Glasgow Rangers, Spain's Real Sociedad, French giants Paris Saint-Germain, and English clubs Everton and Arsenal.

In his five-year-spell at Arsenal, Arteta -- playing as central midfielder -- scored 16 goals in 150 appearances for the Gunners.

Before joining Arsenal as head coach, Arteta was an assistant manager at Manchester City.

On Nov. 29, Arsenal dismissed Spanish manager Unai Emery amid poor results.

Arsenal's ex-midfielder Freddie Ljungberg from Sweden managed the first team as an "interim head coach".

Kaynak: