Mikel Arteta has picked out Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira as the Arsenal heroes of the past that he would like to add to his Gunners squad of the present.

A Spanish tactician has been charged with the task of bringing good times back to Emirates Stadium.

One of his predecessors, the legendary Arsene Wenger, delivered three Premier League titles and a number of domestic cup successes during his reign in north London.

The Frenchman was able to make Arsenal a force to be reckoned with due to the star-studded cast at his disposal.

He once oversaw an entire Premier League campaign unbeaten, with the 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ assured of a place in football folklore.

Arteta would relish the opportunity to add some of those qualities to his class of 2020, with there a couple of Frenchmen that he feels would make his current task considerably easier.

Quizzed on the icons he would be like to call upon, the Gunners boss told a Q&A session with the club’s official website: ‘For example, someone like Thierry [Henry] would be great.

‘Someone like Patrick [Vieira] would be great and some leaders that we had the back. We’ve had a lot of great players who have had great success with this football club.

‘A player that I admired a lot when I was young was Michael Laudrup. I used to love him and the way he played.’

Arteta does have plenty of experience within his ranks, with leaders to be found across the field.

He hopes those qualities will benefit Arsenal heading forward, with the players in his squad – such as Brazilian defender David Luiz – who could go on to become top coaches in the future.

A man who is filling the first managerial post of his career added: ‘I think we can get a few (from the current squad), just joking a little bit, but through the process, they are really willing to try and understand the game better and how they can coach as well.

‘It is not just myself, but how can they coach each other on the pitch? A lot of them are showing a lot of interest, even if they are 18, 19, 20 years old.

‘Obviously, he mentioned to me, David Luiz he wants to be a coach in the future.

‘He has started doing his coaching badges already and I can see he has the attributes, the knowledge and experience to be a coach one day.’