Arsenal transfer could be completed in 'the next few hours' according to player's father

But Arteta has backed the Swiss star by revealing he was once a target for Manchester City.

“As a player, when I was going from Arsenal to City to start coaching and we were looking in that position, he was one of the players on my list,” he said.

“This is how much I liked him. I was happy when Arsenal signed him because I thought he was going to be a terrific player.

“He has done some really good things and now he has got stuck in a very difficult situation that, I think, was growing and growing and growing and one day it exploded.