The Spanish coach has agreed a deal to take over at the Emirates (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has encouraged incoming Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to restore the culture and DNA of the club that was established under Arsene Wenger.

The Spaniard is on the verge of taking his first steps as a manager with the Gunners, having served his apprenticeship as assistant to Pep Guardiola during three-and-a-half very successful years at Manchester City.

Arteta, who skippered Arsenal during his five years at the club as a player, needs to turn around a woeful run of form that has produced just one win in their last 14 games.

Arteta knows Arsenal very well and was interviewed for the job in 2018 (Picture: Getty)

Solskjaer was in a similar position this time last year after being parachuted in to replace Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford and made a point of looking to restore the culture and ethos that had existed under Sir Alex Ferguson.




He believes Arteta needs to do something similar at Arsenal, with many fans having criticised Unai Emery for moving too far away from the football identity that had been ingrained under Wenger.

Asked at his press conference on Friday morning if Arteta is the right man to lead Arsenal forward, Solskjaer replied: ‘Yeah I think so.

‘If you know the DNA and culture of the club, if you’ve been here especially in periods when the club’s done well, you see what the culture is.

‘I think that’s important, build on what’s been going well and improve on what you think should be improved. Guardiola is probably the best example, what he did with the Barcelona team.’

Solskjaer’s words echoed those of Wenger himself, who feels Arteta must uphold the values of Arsenal when he takes over the managerial reins.

Arteta’s return to Arsenal could see the Gunners move back towards Wenger’s ideals (Getty)

Speaking earlier this week, the Frenchman said: ‘I think the most important thing is, every club, and Arsenal especially, is built on special values and inside the club people have to take care of that. That is most important.

‘What makes the culture of a club great, is first the values of the club and you have to be faithful to that and continue to develop that. And he will have to be surrounded, if he comes in, to respect that.

‘The club just needs to make the right decisions. You have to understand first that a football club is built on values and on good players. And that’s what the club will have to do, is get these two together.’

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