Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal head coach, has revealed that he wanted to sign Granit Xhaka for Manchester City before the Swiss midfielder instead completed a move to north London three years ago.​

Arteta, who joined City as a coach in the summer of 2016, saw Xhaka as a possible option when Pep Guardiola was looking to recruit a central midfielder in his first transfer window in England.​

Arteta said that Xhaka was “on my list” of options for City, who ultimately signed Ilkay Gundogan a week after Xhaka had completed his move to Arsenal.​

Xhaka has long been a controversial figure at the Emirates and he was stripped of the captaincy this season by Unai Emery after a furious outburst towards his own supporters. Hertha Berlin are keen on signing Xhaka but Arteta has made it clear, following his appointment last week, that the midfielder will be a key member of his team.​

“When I was going from Arsenal to City to start coaching and we were looking in that position, he was one of the players on my list,” said Arteta, who takes charge of his first game against Bournemouth on Boxing Day. “This is how much I liked him. I was happy when Arsenal signed him because I thought he was going to be a terrific player.​