Mauricio Pochettino was among the candidates considered to replace Unai Emery at Arsenal in 2019

Mauricio Pochettino was reportedly open to taking over at Arsenal following Unai Emery's dismissal in November 2019, despite having left north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur just weeks earlier. The Argentine had spent five years in charge of Spurs before being sacked following a disappointing start to the campaign, which saw his side win just three Premier League matches.

Around the same time, Arsenal parted ways with Emery after 18 months in charge, citing results and performances that were 'not at the level required.' Pochettino was among the candidates considered for the vacancy, with the Telegraph reporting he was willing to hold talks over a potential move to the Emirates Stadium.

However, former Arsenal sporting director Edu ultimately chose Mikel Arteta, who was serving as Pep Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City at the time, despite being less experienced than fellow candidates Pochettino, Carlo Ancelotti and Patrick Vieira.

A phone call with Arteta is understood to have proved decisive in convincing then-Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar that he was the right man for the job. "I interviewed six coaches, all of them with big experience," Edu explained.

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"The only one who did not have big experience was Mikel. When I decided to give an opportunity to Mikel, I sent him a message and gave him a call. We started to talk on the phone about the possibility, the situation, the project and everything.

"That conversation took an hour, easily, and we had a great time on the phone, talking about family, culture, projects, everything - but not much about football. We finished that call as friends. We both really enjoyed it, laughing together. We enjoyed the conversation very much and then we arranged to meet in person."

"I presented to Mikel what we believed to be correct for the club," Edu added. "I spoke to him about the squad, the culture, the strategy and everything that I had thought in my six months inside the club. And Mikel was extremely prepared for the conversation.

Edu continued: "He was prepared to such a level that it felt like he was inside the club already. He presented and spoke about everything. Everything. It was extremely impressive, the way he presented his strategy, the way he was seeing the club and also the excitement he had to start the project. I was like: ‘Wow, this guy is prepared – to the next level.'"

Edu then revealed how Arsenal's hierarchy reached the decision to appoint Arteta.

"We brought pictures of all the names I interviewed," he explained. "All their faces were on the table. I was prepared to talk through each of them to the group.

"Because Mikel was so impressive, his face was in front of everyone else. I remember Raúl said: 'If his picture is at the front, let’s call the guy and make the decision straight away.'"

Arteta has remained at the helm ever since, guiding Arsenal to a Premier League title, an FA Cup and three Community Shield.