Arsenal on brink of announcing new manager on £5m-a-year deal following fresh talks

Mikel Arteta is close to agreeing a £5m-a-year contract to become Arsenal’s next manager and the deal could be wrapped up swiftly following talks with director Josh Kroenke today, according to The Sun.

Arsena have been hunting for a new permanent manager after sacking Unai Emery at the end of November following a 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League which brought an end to his 18-month spell at the Emirates.

Freddie Ljungberg stepped-up to be interim coach while the club searched for a replacement for Emery but the Swede has been unable to turn things around having won just one of his five games in charge.

Arsenal have been linked with a whole host of names over the past 18 days but Arteta has emerged as the front-runner and it looks as though it’s now a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ he gets the job.

Managing director Vinai Venkatesham and chief contract negotiator Huss Fahmy were pictured leaving Arteta’s house at around 1am on Monday morning just hours after Man City had thrashed Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates.

The Sun claims Arsenal’s money-men Venkatesham and Fahmy spent more than two hours with Arteta at his house discussing salary offers and transfer budgets after identifying him as their number one managerial target.

The newspaper says Arteta is on the brink of agreeing a £5m-a-year contract with Arsenal and the deal could be finalised after he holds final talks with director Josh Kroenke today after technical director Edu and head of football Raul Sanllehi gave the go-ahead to appoint the former midfielder.

However, The Sun says Manchester City aren’t happy that Arsenal haven’t spoken directly to them about their interest in Arteta and will demand a large compensation fee to let the 37-year-old leave.

Arteta has been working with the Premier League champions as Pep Guardiola’s number two for over three years and has impressed the City boss with his knowledge and coaching abilities so they are reluctant to see him go.

The former Arsenal star should bring fresh ideas with him if he is unveiled as the clubs new permanent manager, however, some fans are understandably concerned about his lack of experience.