Press conference

Arteta - The 'really helpful' chat I had with Unai

When Mikel Arteta was poised to take the reins at Arsenal in 2019, Unai Emery offered to speak to him to give him the lowdown on the club.

It was gratefully received by our manager, and he says it was very helpful.

"I spoke to him a few times, because we had people in common," Arteta said. "Then I spoke to him before I took over at the club and he was really helpful.

"He offered me that opportunity which is sometimes unusual. He was very sincere and open. I was very grateful for that.

"He is a very experienced and successful manager - in the Europa League in particular with what he has done. So there is no doubt that he has the tools and knowledge to manage at the top level."

There is a lot of focus on the fact that Emery used to be our head coach, but Arteta says that narrative is something he cannot control.

"That relationship existed and we cannot go against it," he said. "Unai knows the club really, really well and we know Unai as well and what he did before he joined here and what he did at the football club and that's it."

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