Arsenal were so down the line in appointing Monchi as sporting director that they were house-hunting for him.

The Mirror says Arsenal were so confident that they were going to be able to lure Monchi to the Emirates that they were viewing apartments for him.

The Gunners had hoped to bring Monchi to the club as technical director from Roma and it appeared a deal was forthcoming before the Spaniard made a late decision to move back to Sevilla.

The 50-year-old was offered a £2.5million-a-year contract at Arsenal but backed out, leaving the Gunners back at square one.

In Arsenal's eyes the deal was so far down the road that they had eyed up properties for Monchi to move into so he could make a smooth transition.