Mikel Arteta is the leading candidate to succeed Arsene Wenger at Arsenal despite having no managerial experience. His appointment would represent a gamble, but a look into his past reveals he has always been destined for the dugout, writes Nick Wright.

Alan Stubbs was nearing the end of his first spell at Everton when Mikel Arteta arrived on loan from Real Sociedad. The 22-year-old had been brought in to add flair to David Moyes' grizzled squad, but despite being a young player new to English football, it soon became clear that he was also happy to stand up in the dressing room and speak his mind.

"Mikel always had an opinion about how the team was playing," Stubbs tells Sky Sports. "He wouldn't hesitate to come forward and say something to the group. He would talk about what the team wasn't doing or what the team needed to do better, whether that was keeping the ball or creating more in the final third.