Adi Hütter is too respectful to say so himself, but Mikel Arteta partly owes his Arsenal job to the Monaco coach, who will arrive at the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League with a habit of upsetting the odds.

It was back in November 2019 when Hütter and his old Eintracht Frankfurt team delivered the knockout blow to Unai Emery’s Arsenal reign by securing a shock 2-1 Europa League victory.

The next morning Emery was sacked and the rest, as they say, is history with Arteta appointed as Arsenal’s next permanent manager a few weeks later.

“I know what it’s like to go to the Emirates and, of course, I have good memories of it with Frankfurt,” said Hütter. “[Daichi] Kamada scored twice and from the current team I think [Bukayo] Saka and [Gabriel] Martinelli played for Arsenal.”

Before that victory in north London five years ago, Hütter had taken Frankfurt all the way to the semi-finals of the Europa League – beating Inter Milan along the way and losing only on penalties to Chelsea after drawing home and away.

“The result at Arsenal with Frankfurt, for sure it’s in there with the nicest victories of my career as a coach, also when we beat Inter Milan in the San Siro the season before and drew twice with Chelsea,” said Hütter.

“To win at the Emirates Stadium, it’s a victory for the history [books]. This will be a completely different challenge because the shape of Arsenal now is really good, but we are in good shape, too.”

As well as facing Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday night, Hütter will go head to head with Emery again in the Champions League when Monaco entertain Aston Villa next month.

Asked if he feels he owes Emery an apology for costing him his Arsenal job, Hütter laughed and said: “No, this is our job. I don’t know if he knows that I was the coach of Frankfurt before he was sacked. Unai is in a good way with Aston Villa. He’s a really successful, fantastic coach. He’s doing a really good job.”

Monaco travel to Arsenal level on 10 points with Arteta’s team, having already defeated Barcelona and Hansi Flick in the Champions League this season.

“The Barcelona result [2-1 to Monaco] was a big surprise for people,” said Hütter. “It’s not easy to take points in the Champions League and, in Arsenal, we are facing one of the top teams in Europe.

“We have some more big games to come against Aston Villa and Inter Milan. So big, big opponents, but we look forward to playing these top teams.”

‘We will not hide at the Emirates’

Arsenal should not need to worry about Monaco trying to park the bus at the Emirates, given Hütter’s commitment to trying to entertain, which has made his teams so thrilling to watch.

“I prefer to play inspiring football, playing forwards and attacking,” said Hütter. “We will not hide at the Emirates, for sure not. We are not this team to say, ‘OK, we are defending in a low block’.

“If you ask me what I want to see – a boring 1-0 or a spectacular 3-2. The spectators like to see a 3-2 because they want to be entertained and for me as well. Football is entertainment, even though I like us to defend well.”

Hütter has won league titles while in charge of Red Bull Salzburg and Young Boys, and thrashed Bayern Munich 5-0 during one season as manager of Borussia Mönchengladbach.

His work has not gone unnoticed in England. He had concrete interest from Newcastle United while he was in charge at Frankfurt and held talks with four Premier League clubs before his Monaco appointment last summer.

Hütter’s two-year contract at Monaco is due to expire at the end of this season. The 54-year-old has made no secret of his desire to coach in the Premier League, but is currently relishing his job at Monaco, and has held talks with the club about extending his deal.

‘It’s a dream to work in the Premier League’

“We are in contact, my agents and Monaco,” said Hütter. “We are in good conversations and I think both are happy. We will see what happens in the next couple of weeks.

“Everybody knows every coach is talking about the Premier League, but I’m here in a huge club in France. It’s a dream to work in the Premier League, but now it’s Monaco and I’m really happy about this.”

Monaco had not qualified for the Champions League for five years when Hütter was appointed and he has led them back to Europe’s top table while working to a tight budget and bringing down the average age of the squad.

One of Hütter’s big successes has been the way in which he has rejuvenated former Liverpool midfielder Takumi Minamino, whom he managed at Salzburg and who may arrive at the Emirates with a point to prove against Arsenal.

“He had a hard start at Monaco,” said Hütter. “But I have known Takumi Minamino for a long time, since I was coaching Salzburg in 2014, and since I’m here, he has made a big step because he knows the kind of football we want to play and he knows me as a person and as a coach.

“Takumi had a fantastic season last year and now he’s our oldest player, our most experienced player at 29. He’s found his confidence again and he’s really important for us. It was not so easy for him at Liverpool, but I hope he can be important for us at the Emirates and show the Premier League what he can do.”