Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of Mikel Arteta as their new manager on a three-and-a-half year deal.
The former Gunners star takes over from Freddie Ljungberg, who had been in temporary charge following the sacking of Unai Emery in November.
Arteta, who played for the Gunners between 2011 and 2016, takes charge of the team in his first managerial role after three years working under Pep Guardiola for Premier League champions Manchester City.
Despite his lack of experience, Arteta is highly thought of and had previously been a candidate for the Emirates top job back in 2018, but lost out to Emery at the interview stage.
The Spaniard takes over a side struggling for form, sitting 10th in the Premier League having won just five of their 17 games.
Arsenal have also won just one of their last 12 matches in all competitions and in their most recent outing, suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, for whom Arteta was, of course, in the dugout.
The announcement comes ahead of Arsenal’s trip to another of Arteta’s former club, Everton, but the former midfielder is expected to watch from the stands before taking charge of his first match on Boxing Day at Bournemouth.