Patrick Vieira Says 'Focus' Is with Nice, No Arsenal Talks After Unai Emery Exit

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira has said his focus is on managing Nice and explained he was not contacted by the Premier League club about replacing Unai Emery. 

Emery was sacked on November 29, and the Gunners appointed former midfielder Mikel Arteta as his replacement on December 20 after fellow Arsenal alumni Freddie Ljungberg managed six games in the interium.

Asked whether he spoke to his former side about taking charge himself following Emery's departure, Vieira told the Daily Mail's David Coverdale:

"No, but there is no place in my mind to have those kind of conversations. My focus is here. This project suits who I am and what I want to achieve.

"This rumour about the Arsenal job is not something that bothered me. I don't know what the future holds but that is why I don't want to put my brain somewhere that doesn't exist. This club knows I want to stay and I know they want me to stay, 100 per cent."

Vieira publicly affirmed his commitment to Nice during the Gunners' search for a new boss:

The Frenchman said he had spoken with the north London outfit when his former mentor Arsene Wenger left the club in 2018, though.

"It was just a conversation about my situation, where I am, what is the next step," he said. "Nothing came of it."

The 43-year-old made 391 appearances for Arsenal as a player, winning three Premier League titles, FA Cups and Community Shields apiece.

After finishing his career at Manchester City in 2011, he joined their coaching staff and spent almost five years there before he took charge of New York City's first team in January 2016.

He managed them until June 2018. NYC finished second in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference in each of his two full seasons in charge, but they lost in the Eastern Conference Playoff semi-finals both times.

Vieira is now in his second season at Nice, having guided them to seventh in Ligue 1 in his first campaign. Only Lille conceded fewer than their 35 goals, but at the other end they scored just 30 times in 38 games.

His side are 11th on 28 points from 20 matches this season, although they're just four points off a UEFA Europa League spot in fourth place.

Nice have been much better going forward—they're just one goal shy of last season's total—but they've already conceded 28 goals, only five teams have shipped more.

Like Arsenal, they've not picked up back-to-back league wins since the opening two games of the season back in August.

Arteta is a gamble for the Gunners. He has three years of coaching experience at City, but he had never been a No. 1 prior to taking over from Emery.

Vieira is further along in his managerial career, but he hasn't shown too much to suggest he would be ready to transform a club like Arsenal at this stage.