It is time. There is now sufficient discussion of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal future that the idea of someone other than him being Arsenal manager at some point in an undefined but relatively near future must be considered as another trophyless season looms.
But who could such a manager be? According to the latest odds, in all likelihood it’d be one of these.
Carlo Ancelotti
Real Madrid have lost their patience which should make Ancelotti a top target for anyone here considering a new manager. No getting around the fact that appointing a former Chelsea boss is a bit Spurs, though.
Xavi
Warming to the tried-and-tested Spanish midfielder theme, we come to Xavi. Went a bit tits up towards the end at Barcelona there, and nobody has rushed to snap him up since.
Feels like this has a high chance of catastrophe. Which doesn’t necessarily put us off the idea, but should maybe perturb Arsenal a bit.
Andoni Iraola
We absolutely agree he has what it takes to manage a Big Six club, but that club probably needs to be in greater distress than Arsenal to go down this road. We’ve pinned our colours to Tottenham’s mast on this one and see no reason to change at this time.
Unai Emery
Failed at being the man who replaced the man, but would he do better as the man who replaced the man who replaced the man who replaced the man? It’s literally hard to say.
Had he not managed Arsenal before, he would absolutely be an excellent candidate after his stellar work with Aston Villa but surely neither club nor Emery would want a repeat.
Marco Silva
We like him, we really do. But it will be very hard to sell this to Arsenal fans as an upgrade on Arteta.
Zinedine Zidane
We will all rest easier when the former Real Madrid manager (x2) either retires or takes another job. Why do we have to pretend that he is about to be parachuted into the Premier League?
Diego Simeone
Absolutely yes, if only to see the reaction from the sweet summer children who think Arteta’s Arsenal are already top-tier Dark Arts Bastardos.
We’ve long suspected if anyone ever did manage to tempt him across from Spain that Simeone could bring the Barclays to its knees inside six months and, while that will admittedly be slightly harder now Jurgen Klopp is no longer here, it still feels doable.
Antonio Conte
An intriguing option because he really is the worst and best man for the job. He has won the Premier League title and a gaggle of Serie A titles so he absolutely knows how to win. He also absolutely knows how to fall out with pretty much everybody.
Max Allegri
We still just can’t quite see him in the Barclays. The man simply oozes Serie A. We know Sir Alex thinks he’s good because he said so once many years ago but we’re increasingly unsure that’s particularly important now. He is the current favourite for the Man Utd job.
Simone Inzaghi
Hugely successful with Inter, and a man who would look absolutely first rate in a club-crested Arsenal blazer. It’s a key part of being a top Arsenal manager and a conspicuous weakness of Arteta’s.
And he might well be about to win the Champions League while getting paid a whole lot less than Arteta.
