Mikel Arteta's appointment as Arsenal manager is thought to be just days away. 

The Gunners sacked Unai Emery on November 29 but have seemingly been in no hurry to replace him. 

Yet the fact that poor results have continued under interim boss Freddie Ljungberg has hurried along the process. 

It's now an open secret that Arteta is the man they will turn to, but he was still in the dugout for Manchester City's 3-1 victory over Oxford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. 

Pep Guardiola has said openly he won't stand in his assistant's way if he does want to leave the Etihad to pursue a coaching career of his own.

The real mystery is why it's taken Arsenal so long to make their move. Perhaps that suggests Arteta wasn't the board's unanimous choice. 

As far as making that move is concerned, City seem as perplexed as the rest of us about the north Londoners' approach - or lack thereof. 

The Premier League champions have hit out at Arsenal for their 'shambolic' and 'disrespectful' conduct, with a source telling the Daily Mail: 

"It's surprising to hear that plans are being made by Arsenal to unveil our coach as their head coach on Friday, on the basis that no contact has been made by the club to discuss this matter."

City are essentially accusing the club of tapping him up but are not planning to make a formal complaint and will instead seek compensation of around £2million. 

Per the same source, Arteta ironed out the details yesterday on a three-and-a-half year contract. 

Arsenal have offered him close to the £5million-a-year Emery was earning. 

They're going to have to tell City that at some point.