GUNNERS TAKE MIK
Arteta offered hotseat but Henry makes late bid
MIKEL Arteta is the man Arsenal have chosen to take over from Arsene Wenger.
And he could have Thierry Henry and Santi Cazorla as key men in his backroom team.
But the French striker really wants to be manager — and will have talks with the board tomorrow.
But it looks as though Arteta is the man — with some bookies refusing to take bets on him getting the job.
The Gunners had more experienced men in the frame but have decided to go down another road.
They turned their back on former Barcelona gaffer Luis Enrique after he asked for £ 8million a year.
That’s DOUBLE what Wenger was getting as Arsenal chief and too much for the board to pay.
They were also interested in Juventus chief Max Allegri but he wanted more than the £ 50m war chest being offered for new players this summer.
Arteta’s demands for wages and transfer budgets are more modest — and that has made all the difference.
The Spaniard is not the stellar name many Arsenal fans wanted as they moaned Wenger out of town.
Influence
But he should get a decent honeymoon period after being popular with supporters during two years as a player with the club.
There’s no doubt it’s a big risk for Arsenal to bring in someone with no experience as a gaffer.
Arteta has spent the last season as a key part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City.
What nobody knows is how much of an influence he has had on the newly crowned champions.
Former Gunner William Gallas was expecting someone with a lot more experience to take over from Wenger.
The Frenchman spent four years at the club and is surprised at the appointment of Arteta.
He said: “I don’t know him as a manager.
“I would be surprised because he’s never been in charge as a manager. I know he was assistant coach with
Guardiola but it’s completely different when you are in charge of 24 players. You have to manage 24 players.”
As well as Henry, former Gunner Robert Pires says he would love to be part of the new coaching set- up at the club.
Help
He has been working with some of the younger Arsenal players over the past year and would love to step into first- team duties.
Pires said: “I want to help Arsenal and I want to help the new manager. I want to be on the staff. I think I can help. It is an option for me and I hope it is an option for Arsenal.
“Arsenal have recently had a new sporting director from Dortmund, which for me is not a problem, I respect the decision.
“But I think that some explayers can help Arsenal. We know the high level and we won some titles.
“If I can give some advice for the players, it would be good.”
It is far from certain that Henry will swap the lucrative world of being a TV pundit for the dugout.
If he was No2 to Arteta, it would be the least experienced coaching team at one of the big clubs in recent memory.
Sources close to the Frenchman say he wants to be the manager rather than assistant.
That could lead to the dreaded “joint managers” that surely no sane club would ever agree to.
Henry has been part of the Belgium coaching set- up for the past two years with Roberto Martinez.
He is due in London for talks with the Arsenal board where he will iron out his role — if any — in the new team.