We have been very respectful Arsenal deny any wrongdoing in Arteta pursuit

Arsenal head of football Raul Sanllehi has denied any

 wrongdoing in his club's pursuit of Mikel Arteta after 

reports emerged that Manchester City were upset over a 

lack of a formal approach.

Former Gunners captain Arteta was unveiled as 

Arsenal's boss on Friday, leaving Man City, where he had 

served on Pep Guardiola's backroom team for three and 

a half seasons.

The 37-year-old returns to London to find Arsenal 

struggling in mid-table, having endured a tough start to 

the season under Unai Emery, who was sacked at the 

end of last month.

Reports suggested City were unhappy with the nature of 

Arteta's move to Arsenal, although Guardiola and the 

club wished the departing coach well.

Pictures emerged of Arteta meeting with Arsenal 

officials days before the switch was completed, but 

Sanllehi believes the Gunners were "very respectful" in 

their pursuit of the Spaniard.

"In terms of the pictures, we didn't think it was such a 

great deal," Sanllehi said.

"We have been publicly explaining openly we are in a 

process of looking for a head coach, and we have been 

seeing many and in the houses of many. It just 

happened this time there was a picture for whatever 

reason.

"I do not know if it was a neighbour or someone 

following - I do not know and I do not care.

"In terms of Man City and given the tight relationship 

between Mikel and Pep, we have been very careful, 

extremely transparent and very respectful."

Emery arrived from Paris Saint-Germain upon Arsene 

Wenger's departure after the 2017-18 season, at which 

point Arteta was also in the running for the role.

But despite the way Emery's tenure panned out, Sanllehi 

is still content Arsenal made the best decision they 

could at the time, while backing Arteta as the ideal 

candidate for the club's future.

Asked if there were regrets, Sanllehi told reporters: "No, I 

do not like to look to the past.

"I like to look to the future, and at that time, we made a 

decision with the information we had. It is not time to 

regret. We made a decision conscious of what we 

wanted at that time.

"We are now conscious and convinced of what we are 

doing now."

Discussing Arteta's aims, Sanllehi said Arsenal "need to 

be in the Champions League" after failing to qualify in 

the past three seasons. He added Arsenal would look to 

win the Premier League "eventually."