Mikel Arteta has revealed he spoke with Unai Emery before joining Arsenal.
Arteta succeeded his compatriot in the Gunners hot-seat in December 2019.
The pair will come up against each other on Thursday when Arsenal take on Emery's Villarreal in the Europa League semi-final first-leg.
"I spoke to him a few times, because we had people in common," Arteta said. "Then I spoke to him before I took over at the club and he was really helpful.
"He offered me that opportunity which is sometimes unusual. He was very sincere and open. I was very grateful for that.
"He is a very experienced and successful manager - in the Europa League in particular with what he has done. So there is no doubt that he has the tools and knowledge to manage at the top level."
He added: "That relationship existed and we cannot go against it.
"Unai knows the club really, really well and we know Unai as well and what he did before he joined here and what he did at the football club and that's it."
