Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta wanted Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders to be his No2

dailystar.co.uk:

Mikel Arteta wanted Jurgen Klopp's right-hand man Pep Lijnders to join him at Arsenal when he replaced Unai Emery as manager back in 2019.Lijnders, who has been Liverpool's assistant manager since 2014 (save for the four month period in 2018 where he left to manage Dutch side NEC), revealed in his new book 'Intensity' that Arteta - who was Pep Guardiola's assistant for four years at Manchester City - approached him after noticing how much of an impact Lijnders had on Klopp's team."Mikel Arteta had asked me to be his assistant manager when he was preparing for his new step into management," Lijnders wrote.READ MORE: Arsenal chief Edu hints Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil were "killing" Gunners"We were together years earlier on the Pro Licence course, [though] his request came out of nothing.

Mikel had said he felt: 'There was just a difference playing Liverpool before and after you came in'."This was the biggest compliment I ever got from somebody, I think, but I politely said no to him."The Dutchman admitted he was tempted by the "crazy" thought of both Guardiola and Klopp's assistants joining forces, but with Liverpool weeks away from sealing their first ever Premier League title at the time, leaving wasn't an option.Would Arsenal be a top four team if Pep Lijnders had become Mikel Arteta's assistant?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.The task facing Arteta at Arsenal isn't too dissimilar to the one Klopp and Lijnders faced back at Anfield back in 2015.