Football news - Arsenal confirm Mikel Arteta as head coach

He will replace Freddie Ljunberg, interim manager following the departure of Unai Emery.

Arteta said: "It is a huge honour. Arsenal is one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"We need to be competing for the top trophies in the game and that's been made very clear to me in my discussions with Stan and Josh Kroenke.

"We all know there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that but I am confident we'll do it. I'm realistic enough to know it won't happen overnight but the current squad has plenty of talent and htere is a great pipeline of young players coming thorugh from the academy."

He will begin his time as manager on Sunday, the day after their next Premier League game against Everton.

The club released a statement saying:

Mikel, a former club captain, played for us for five seasons from 2011 to 2016 and has signed a three-and-a-half year contract.

The Spaniard held a press conference later on Friday, saying he "will give every drop of blood for this football club", and has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.

Mikel’s coaching team will be announced as soon as possible.

Head of football Raul Sanllehi said: “We met several top-class candidates and Mikel stood out to every single one of us as the perfect person for us. Mikel understands Arsenal Football Club and what it means to our fans around the world. We look forward to him getting down to work and bringing the best out of our squad as we work to get our season back on track.

“I must also pay tribute to Freddie Ljungberg for his hard work and leadership. Together with Per Mertesacker, he has done a vital job for us in difficult circumstances. Freddie and Per are important parts of the Arsenal family and care deeply for this club.”"

Arsenal are 10th in the league table, seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, after five victories in 17 matches this season.

Emery was sacked last month after Arsenal's 2-1 Europa League home defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt which extended their winless run in all competitions to seven games, their worst streak since February 1992 under George Graham.

After Arsenal's 3-0 league defeat by Manchester City on Sunday, interim manager Freddie Ljungberg urged the club hierarchy to make a quick decision over the identity of their next permanent manager.

Arteta was named by British media as one of the candidates in the running to replace former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger in 2018 before the club appointed Emery.

The 37-year-old has enjoyed a successful spell at Manchester City as assistant to head coach Pep Guardiola, helping the club to consecutive league titles over the last two seasons