It was a case of so close, yet so far for Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal job.

This time last week and the Manchester City coach looked nailed on to inherit the reins at the Emirates Stadium. After a successful round of talks for the job, the former Arsenal player had emerged as the overwhelming favourite.

In the end, though, the Gunners opted for experience and selected Unai Emery as the man to take over after 22 years under the watch of Arsene Wenger.

Nevertheless, there's still a quiet feeling that Arteta could still return to north London one day.

Taking the job without any prior managerial experience could have been a risk and the Spaniard may look for openings elsewhere before committing to a top club.

Arteta misses out on Arsenal job

His ties with Manchester City have led some fans to speculate that he could stay within the franchise and manage New York City FC, who may lose Patrick Vieira this summer.

Ultimately, though, there's no rush for Arteta to jump into the hot seat

At City, he has the opportunity to learn under one of the greatest managers in the modern game and continue to win trophies at the Etihad Stadium.

Arteta could succeed Guardiola

It will do him no harm to stick it out in Manchester.

Interestingly, too, there could be an even greater incentive for Arteta to stay put.

According to the Mirror, City have told the 36-year-old that he would be in consideration to replace Pep Guardiola if and when he leaves the club. 

The news has emerged after the club offered Arteta a new two-year contract as coach.

It was also revealed that Guardiola called Arteta as soon as he heard that Arsenal had performed a U-turn with chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak also seeking to console him.

The fact he could one day take over at City, though, is probably the ultimate reassurance.

No matter how Arteta progresses as a coach, he would have to impress the hierarchy at City who will have incredibly high standards when Guardiola eventually departs.

It would be a major risk to appoint a complete novice but that's exactly how Guardiola started out at Barcelona.

The moral of the story is that his rejection at the hands of Arsenal really isn't the end of the world for Arteta and it seems he'll have no trouble making it as a number one eventually.

Besides, he could have the Premier League's finest team making him a job offer in coming years.

Do you think Arsenal were right to pick Emery over Arteta? Have your say in the comments section below.