Patrick Vieira has expressed his desire to manage former club Arsenal one day and reach the very highest level with the club.

Vieira was an icon at Highbury, playing 275 games and leading the Gunners to three Premier League titles and three FA Cups.

Included among his accolades in north London was the 2003-04 season, when the Frenchman and his Arsenal teammates made history by becoming the ‘Invincibles’.

Vieira’s influence as a leader led him to his next career on the sidelines as a manager.

He started his career at Manchester City by completing his coaching badges and taking charge of their youth sides.

Then he moved across the Atlantic to New York City FC, before returning to France to manage Nice.

Vieira’s side narrowly missed out on qualifying for Europe last season, but are on course to challenge again this year.

He’s solely focused on his job at hand on the Cote d’Azur for the time being, but has admitted that he has ambitions of returning to England – namely north London.

‘Yes, like any player, when we do this job we want to reach the very highest level,’ he told the Team Dugga programme on RMC, when asked if he would want to manage Arsenal.

‘But I can reach a very high level with Nice from the moment we give ourselves the means to succeed, and at the moment the way which we work is quite consistent.

‘But we do this job, and I do this job, to one day to be the coach of a team that participates in the Champions League or the World Cup.’

Vieira was one of the bookies’ favourites to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal before Unai Emery was announced as head coach.

He had also been linked with Juventus, another of his previous clubs, before Maurizio Sarri took over following the departure of Massimiliano Allegri.