Former Everton director of football Marcel Brands claims he tried to sign Mikel Arteta for the club.

The Toffees enjoyed the best years of Arteta's career in the Premier League, while he did also star for Arsenal towards the end of his playing days.

However, they were unable to convince Arteta to sign on as a head coach, as he went from Manchester City assistant to Arsenal boss.

Brands told SoccerNews: “I moved heaven and earth to bring Arteta to Everton.

“He is also a former player of course. I spent the entire evening at his house and I saw him as the ideal man for us.

“I immediately saw a top trainer. At the time he was still an assistant to Pep Guardiola and he was busy with other things. But you saw that he was becoming a top trainer."