Former Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie has spoken about how Mikel Arteta showed he would be a manager one day.

Arteta and Van Persie were teammates at the Gunners, before the latter left for Manchester United.

And the Dutchman has always been very complimentary about the Spaniard and his footballing knowledge.

Arteta is now Arsenal manager, having taken over from Unai Emery earlier this season.

Van Persie told Stats Perform: "Yes, I did [see Arteta becoming a manager].

"I played with him, if I'm correct, for one year. I was the captain for that year; he was our vice-captain. He was constantly talking about tactics, how we should play. He was really good in that way.

"He was a very good player, but he was constantly busy with the team, busy with the atmosphere, the whole team spirit thing was important to him. He invited all of us to his house for a Christmas dinner! He was already then acting like a coach."