Mikel Arteta’s tenure as Arsenal head coach began on Sunday and with a big job on his hands, he’ll need all hands on deck over the coming weeks and months.
It’s who those hands belong to that have sparked interest and debate in recent days, and we now have some clarity as to who will be assisting him at London Colney.
Freddie Ljungberg, 42 | Assistant
Needs no introduction. Swedish. Invincible. And sticking around under the new regime.
Albert Stuivenberg, 49 | Assistant
Current assistant coach of Wales. Previously worked with Manchester United under Louis van Gaal. He’s going to continue working with Wales until the end of Euro 2020.
Steve Round, 49 | Assistant
Previously coached England, Newcastle, Everton, Manchester United. He coached Arteta at Goodison Park during the David Moyes era. More recently he was Director of Football at Aston Villa.
Inaki Cana Pavon, 44 | Keeper coach
Signed from Brentford to be the club’s new goalkeeper coach alongside Sal Bibbo. He was at Danish side FC Nordsjælland before that and has also run his own keeper academy in Barcelona. He’ll work alongside Sal Bibbo.
While Unai Emery’s Spanish contingent left when he was sacked, the rest of the backroom team is mostly intact. That includes the medical and performance staff under Gary O’Driscoll and Shad Forsythe and most of the video analysts and data team.
Speaking about the appointments, Mikel Arteta told Arsenal.com: “I am delighted to have this talented group of coaches alongside me. They bring a great mix of experience and fresh thinking.
“Along with the talented people we have in the club already they will be key people to get us back to winning ways.”