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Patrick Vieira speaks out on Arsenal links as north London club consider their next move

Patrick Vieira

Nice boss Patrick Vieira has played down suggestions that he could be set to return to Arsenal as manager.

The Gunners are on the lookout for a new permanent head coach after sacking Unai Emery on Friday.

Freddie Ljungberg, a former team-mate of Vieira's, has been handed the reins on a caretaker basis, with Emery dismissed following a run of seven games without a win in all competitions.

But the Frenchman, who won three Premier League titles during his nine years with the north London outfit, admits he is unlikely to return to Arsenal this season.

"There are things I don't control, people who say a lot of stuff, which is true or not true," he told reporters after Nice's 3-1 victory over Angers in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

"I didn't say anything, I didn't say anything about that. I'm like you, I read, I look, I hear things, and that's it."

"It's a very complicated job, I realise that," he said. "I support Emery, it's always sad to see a coach losing his job.

"Today it's him, tomorrow it might be me, but as soon as you decide to start in this job, you have to expect to be fired at some point."

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).