Rumours broke earlier today that Arsenal were in advanced talks with Juventus over a possible arrangement that’ll see their current manager, Massimilanio Allegri, switch Turin for London.
Arsene Wenger has been heavily linked with a departure from the Emirates come the end of the season. The boss’ current contract is set to expire in the summer and whilst some reports will suggest that the Gunners board are keen to offer the Frenchman a new deal, it seems that Le Prof supposedly wishes to wait until the end of the season. Wenger believes that success is vital this season, to recognise whether he should remain in charge of the club or not. He is also keen to see as well if whether he is still wanted by the board and the fans. Officials are therefore keen to have a backup in place in case Wenger isn’t the apparent option for next season and they have supposedly identified Allegri to be that man.
The rumours were strong about ongoing talks between Arsenal and Allegri, but Juventus director Beppe Marotta, has now announced that all may not be as true as it seems in the reports doing the rounds. A Talksport report confirms the statement by Marotta, which reads: “Allegri has a contract with us and I reaffirm we have an excellent rapport which has brought us great success. We want to continue growing with him.”
“Even without the fact there is a contract, there are no reasons to start creating problems. We are happy with him and he is happy with us.”
Allegri is just one name that has been linked with the post so far this season. Eddie Howe, Diego Simeone and Jochaim Low are also supposedly in the hotseat. It’s going to be a tough job to replace the legendary status that Arsene Wenger has had at Arsenal; and it’ll certainly seem strange watching the Gunners line up under a different manager for the first time since 1996. For many fans, Arsene Wenger is the only Arsenal manager that fans have known and it’ll be interesting to see which direction the board takes in replacing him.
Allegri would be a good option for the Gunners, with a proven record in Italy, but will the Gunners favour another one of our targets over the Italian?
By AH