Mikel Arteta Reportedly Wants Full Control of Arsenal Transfers Ahead of Expected Appointment

It is expected that Arsenal will unveil Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta as their new manager next week, and the Spaniard will reportedly demand full control over the club's transfer dealings.

The former Arsenal midfielder is the favourite to replace Arsene Wenger and is believed to be the preferred choice of chief executive Ivan Gazidis, who has now persuaded owner Stan Kroeke's son that Arteta is the right man for the job.

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Sven Mislintat is believed to have been responsible for the purchases of both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Arteta will be required to work within the recruitment structure, but the Daily Mail are reporting that the Spaniard will have a strong voice and the power to veto any transfer he opposes.

Until recently Arsene Wenger had full control over all transfer proceedings at the Emirates, but the appointment of Mislintat as head of recruitment in November 2017 drastically altered the manner in which transfers were conducted. 

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The other candidates included Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann and Gunners legend Thierry Henry who is now believed to be open to joining Arsenal's new look backroom staff.

Arteta will spend the remainder of this week finalising the details of the proposed move, recruiting his coaching staff and ensuring he has sufficient influence in transfer policy. 

The new boss will only have a limited budget in his first season at Arsenal, and while the sale of Aaron Ramsey could raise some much needed funds, there is unlikely to be a huge turnaround at the club in the summer.