As news emerged that Manchester City assistant coach is a shoo-in as the new Arsenal manager, former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino joined into the conversation and suggested his former colleague will prove a perfect fit. Although a senior to Arteta, Pochettino played with the Spaniard at Paris Saint-Germain.
Arteta has supposedly met up with Arsenal executives over the weekend and was picked as the final choice to take the job vacated by Unai Emery, Metro reported.
"The Gunners held talks with Arteta on Sunday evening after the team's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium, and Metro.co.uk understands that the club's hierarchy are now confident that an agreement can be reached with the 37-year-old within the next 48 hours," the report claimed.
Presently the No. 2 to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Arteta has been shortlisted with the likes of Massimiliano Allegri, Carlo Ancelotti, and Pochettino himself but as the same report indicated it seemed the Arsenal board had made a decision following weeks of speculation.
In a related report, the Mirror said the meeting between Arsenal senior officials and Arteta that started Sunday night lasted until the early hours of the following day.
"Arsenal chiefs were pictured leaving Arteta's home in Manchester in the early hours of Monday morning," the report indicated.
If true that an agreement between the two parties has been reached, it is estimated that the new Gunners boss will take the lead in time for the game on Saturday. Arsenal will clash with Everton on that day.
As of writing, there is no confirmation from either Arsenal executives or Arteta, but Pochettino is convinced that the Gunners have made the right choice. The Argentine said his ex-teammate at PSG has "the capacity to be one of the greatest coaches in football."
"For me, he's going to be one of the best coaches when he decides to be a coach ... He's top, a top personality, character. I think he has the qualities to be one of the best," the former Spurs manager explained.
He also recalled that Arteta first came to his attention as a 17-year-old in Paris, and right then, he knew there was brilliance that the Spaniard radiated, on and off the pitch.
"He was brilliant not only because of his talent but his maturity on the pitch, to be a leader, his knowledge about football surprised me as he was a young player who had a capacity to talk in the same level as a 30-year-old player," Pochettino shared of the initial encounter with Arteta.
