Mikel Arteta set to be announced as Arsenal boss with three-and-a-half year deal worth £5m a season

EPL News Today | Arsenal are set to officially make Mikel Arteta their next manager with the Spaniard having agreed to take up the vacant Emirates hotseat.
Mikel Arteta has agreed to become Arsenal’s next manager following recent talks and the north London club hope to have him installed for their Premier League showdown with Everton on Saturday . He will replace Unai Emery, who was sacked after 18 months in charge having gone eight games without a win before his demise.
The Gunners have stepped up their search for a new permanent boss in recent days with interim Freddie Ljungberg having failed to stop the rot at the Emirates since Emery was sacked at the end of November.
Arsenal have only won one of their five games across all competitions under Ljungberg and were thrashed 3-0 by Manchester City last Sunday.
That has led them to ramp up talks and they held a second meeting with Arteta at his Manchester residence just hours after their defeat to City, where the Spaniard currently serves as assistant manager to Pep Guardiola.
The 37-year-old will be on the bench on Wednesday night when City face Oxford United in their Carabao Cup quarter-final at the Kassam Stadium.
Arsenal director Josh Kroenke has returned to America and is poised to approve Mikel Arteta's appointment as the club's new manager.
Arteta's return to the Emirates Stadium is at an advanced stage following talks with the club's kingmakers - head of football Raul Sanllehi, technical director Edu, managing director Vinai Venkatesham and head of football operations Huss Fahmy.
Josh Kroenke, son of Gunners owner Stan, has spent an extended period in England to help smooth the transition following the sacking of Unai Emery this month.
But with the club's recruitment process virtually complete, Josh Kroenke has jetted back to the USA with Arteta's appointment - baring a dramatic turn of events - expected to follow shortly.
He could be in place in time for Saturday's Premier League clash against Everton - where the 37-year-old spent six years as a player.
Arsenal's holding company Kroenke Sports and Entertainment is based in Denver, Colorado. As revealed by Sportsmail yesterday, the Spaniard wants the job and is prepared to leave his role as Manchester City's No 2 immediately.
But that is likely to be the final time Arteta sits alongside Guardiola in the dugout, report the Daily Mirror, because the former midfielder has agreed to take the vacant Arsenal job.
Arteta, who spent five seasons as a player at Arsenal and retired at the Emirates three years ago, is expected to pen a three-and-a-half year deal.
That is after club chiefs had in-depth discussions with the coach, who has never had a senior role in management but has operated as Guardiola’s right-hand man for his trophy-laden Etihad spell.
Arsenal director Josh Kroenke, the son of owner Stan Kroenke, has flown back to the United States with the formalities all but done, barring an official announcement.
The Mirror claim that Arteta will be given some freedom to construct his backroom staff and is free to chose his own assistant.
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