It has not been announced or anything, so the fans of Arsenal and the other Premier League clubs can only look on in bemusement at the circus that Manchester United has become. On the one hand we have ED Woodward publicly backing the current manager and then Louis van Gaal bawling out any reporter that dares to mention his possible sacking or, even worse, the name of his possible successor at Old Trafford.
On the other hand we have the football media seemingly convinced that Jose Mourinho is already lined up to take the United reins in the summer with a deal already arranged. So instead of speculation we are increasingly seeing reports like the one in the Daily Mail today that focuses on what Mourinho will do when, not if, be becomes the United manager.
So I thought it might be worth a look at how his appointment would affect us all at Arsenal. It would certainly lead to the renewal of serious hostilities between the clubs and the managers but I am hard pressed to say whether that is a good or a bad thing.
From the way things went for the mouthy one this season at Chelsea, the days of Mourinho getting help from referees are long over because of all his accusations and the video evidence that proved his players were regularly cheating. I have a bad feeling that Wenger’s struggles against Mourinho would continue as hos negative and counter attacking tactics are ideally suited to face the Gunners.
On the other hand I think that United under Jose would also struggle to break down defensive sides themselves and would not necessarily be able to succeed in the Premier League any more than van Gaal has. No doubt the Portuguese coach would be splurging big money in the transfer market and you would say that would make our own transfer business more difficult, but then again we never seem to challenge for the big name players anyway.
What do you think Mourinho going to Man United would mean to Arsenal?