Mikel Arteta congratulated Unai Emery on his appointment as Villarreal boss, while acknowledging his predecessor has left him with a considerable but "beautiful challenge at Arsenal".
Emery was appointed to replace Javier Calleja on Thursday, eight months on from a winless run of seven matches across all competitions that resulted in him being sacked by the Gunners.
Arteta was handed the reins as his permanent successor the following month and has guided Arsenal to the FA Cup final, although a midweek defeat to relegation-threatened Aston Villa showed inconsistency remains.
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Nevertheless, the former Manchester City assistant was keen to thank Emery for what has often appeared to be a flawed inheritance.