Per Mertesacker talks up Mikel Arteta, would like a reunion

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Arsenal have been linked with bringing Mikel Arteta back to the club.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery is under pressure, and former Gunners midfielder Mikel Arteta is a popular candidate with fans to replace him.

The Gunners had considered Manchester City assistant Arteta before hiring Emery in 2018, but went with the more experienced option, which seemed to be going well in Emery’s first season.

Now though, Arsenal have won just two of their last 10 Premier League games, and Emery finds himself under unrelenting pressure to get results.

The Sun recently suggested that, if Arsenal want Arteta, then City won’t stand in his way, potentially freeing up Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man for a move to the Emirates Stadium.

Now, Arsenal academy boss Per Mertesacker has given a hint that he’d like to see Arteta make a return to the Gunners in the future.

Speaking in this month’s edition of Four Four Two’s ‘My Perfect XI’, Mertesacker not only named Arteta in his side, but discussed a potential future reunion.

“I was his vice-captain at Arsenal, and he trusted me,” said Mertesacker. “I was by his side during team meetings and we had a great bond. I’d love to work with him again – a top guy,” he added.

With Mertesacker already working his way up as a coach, seeing the German and Arteta work together as part of an Arsenal coaching setup really isn’t beyond all realms of possibility.

Mertesacker won’t have made the comments in the hope that Emery loses his job, but it does seem that Arteta’s return would be popular not just with the fanbase, but also with some inside the Emirates Stadium.