Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira praised current Gunners coach Mikel Arteta for bringing “energy” back to the club. Arteta, a former Arsenal player himself, took over as manager of the Premier League giants in December 2019 after Unai Emery was sacked.

He has since garnered praise with the team losing just two of his 15 games in charge. “When you’re a Gunner, always a Gunner, so I’m watching them all the time, I watch their games,” Viera told former Arsenal teammate Ian Wright in an interview for Adidas.

“What is really interesting with Arteta is that he brings the energy back and it looks like they are playing for the club, but for the manager as well, and I think that is really important,” said the current Nice head coach.

Vieira captained Arsenal when they competed with Manchester United for supremacy in the Premier League in the early 2000s and lifted the trophy when they won the title without losing a single game in the 2003/04 season. Since retiring from football, Vieira has managed New York City in Major League Soccer (MLS) from 2016 to 2018 before taking over at Nice. He was speculated as a potential replacement for Emery at Arsenal before Arteta was appointed.

Vieira said that he is happy at the French Ligue 1 club for now but harbours ambitions of managing a big club.

“I really don’t know what the future will be, but doing this job it was like being a player,” Vieira said.

“I wanted to play at a high level, I wanted to play for the national team, I wanted to go to the World Cup, I wanted to play with the best players and there is no doubt as a coach I have the same kind of ambition.

“I would want to manage a team that will have a chance to win the Champions League, to play the Champions League competition.

“But at the moment, honestly, right here at Nice I am in the perfect place, perfect place because I can fulfill my ambitions, the club is really ambitious and the club gives me the tools to grow as a manager, but to be a part of a winning team and to play good competitions as well.

“The team is growing up really fast, really quick and hopefully I can get my ambitions with OGC Nice.”