Santi Cazorla says Mikel Arteta deserves to be the head coach at Arsenal, as he was always a leader in the dressing room as a player.

A former teammate of now-Villarreal-midfielder Cazorla, Mikel Arteta is 10 games into his spell as Arsenal head coach.

The 37-year-old has a decent record so far. He’ll certainly want to cut down on the number of draws, which make up half of his matches. Still, four wins and just one defeat makes it a good start overall.

Cazorla certainly doesn’t doubt his old friend’s capacity to manage, telling BBC Sport the appointment was the right call.

“Arteta deserves to be the boss,” Cazorla said. “He was always a leader in the dressing room. It was the right decision to put him in as manager; it made sense and he has everything you need for the job. I hope he takes Arsenal up the table.”

The Spanish midfield duo won two FA Cups and two Community Shields together at Arsenal. Unfortunately, injuries cut both of their spells with the club short. Arteta was club captain at the time, but he ended up having to retire. Meanwhile, Cazorla eventually made his comeback on the pitch – but with Villarreal.

It’s always good to hear former players endorsing the new boss. They know better than any of us what Arteta was like behind the scenes. Now we just need to bring Cazorla back to play a testimonial under the new coach.