Potential Unai Emery replacements – Nuno Santo: The pros and cons

Would Nuno Santo be the sort of manager to appease the Arsenal fans?

Nuno Espirito Santo is one of several names who have been linked with the managerial position at Arsenal and we look at how good or bad a manager he could be for the Gunners.

Pros

He has shown resilience bouncing back from being ousted as Porto manager to guide Wolves to promotion to the Premier League.

Santo has helped the likes of Raul Jimenez, Adama Traore and Ruben Neves mature into quality players. Arsenal could do with a manager like that.

Santo is also a manager for the big games as his Wolves side keep proving time and again.

Having managed FC Porto in the Champions League, Nuno also comes with European management experience. That is probably an essential requirement for any future Arsenal manager.

The 45-year-old sends his team out to play entertaining attractive football which, if we are honest, has been missing with Arsenal for some time now.

Cons

Santo is yet to win a major trophy as a manager and until he does that will be a burden.

Santo could be one of those managers who thrive at smaller teams then struggles at a higher level. This appears to have been the case with Porto where he was sacked.

The brutal truth is that are other managers around his age that have a far better record. Erik ten Hag is a classic example of that. Why would Arsenal choose a manager with an inferior record?

This is the sixteenth in a series of articles that I will be doing and all words are my own perception and opinion.

13 Comments

  1. No thanks

    Little experience
    No experience at a big club
    No top trophies

    He’s doing well at Wolverhampton. They are just 1 point behind us

    But we need experience at a big club with Trophies

    So far the only ones I like in this very interesting series of Articles are Allegri and Ancelotti

  2. Jimenez and Neves were established internationals before they moved to Wolves who play an effective if one dimensional system based on counterattacking.Santo would soon sort out our lack of defensive shape but whether he could adapt to a more pro active system based on a flat back four is open to doubt.He does however strike me as a very fine motivator who has created a great team spirit at Wolves and has made them a team to be feared.He would be a safe pair of hands in my opinion.

  3. A very good coach for me he would be the best of the wild cards, far better than arteta, wilder, vierra or howe. He has made wolves a very good unit.

  4. A lot of cons being given because managers haven’t won trophies. Well they have to win their first trophy somewhere so why not with us?
    I’m not interested in Enrique, Allegra, Mourinho or the like, I want to see a fresh new manager with modern ideas, one who plays the game as it should be played and given a chance with a big club. Let’s not forget that Wenger was unknown when he came here and had won nothing of note apart from the J League. That completely unknown manager won doubles, leagues, cups and got us to the CL final, unearthed unknown superstars and entertained us. Oh how I miss being entertained.

    1. I miss it too, Declan! And I haven’t even thought about next Saturday…I’m more excited about watching Wrighty in the jungle!! How bad is that?!!

      1. Not bad at all Sue, I’m looking forward to seeing him tomorrow too. At least he’s entertaining and he says it like it is.

    2. At Monaco, Wenger actually won the French league, reached the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, and the semifinal of the Champions league. After that he was sought by Bayern, but Monaco would not release him from his contract at the time.

      So ‘Arsene who’ was just the English media’s display of ignorance.

  5. Sorry Arsenal fans but Nuno would not go to Arsenal. He is one of the top coaches in the country and is at one of the biggest clubs in the country – a club who are very much on the up and which, with Nuno at the helm, will achieve great things in the next few years. To go to Arsenal at this time would be a backward step for him. Arsenal as a club are sadly in a mess. Wolves are not. The old guard of the so called ‘big 6’ is no more.

    1. correct
      and he will ruin his reputation with the likes of Mustafi Kolasinac Socrates Luiz xhaka ozil
      one cannot coach such players at this age
      Arsene was smart, he knew that so he packed up
      Unai or anyone has to get these chaps out of the club to move forward.The future seems bright with Rob Saliba Tierney etc

    2. We’ve got a Wolf where I live in London Colney, in fact he’s a good friend of mine. I’ve discussed football with him many times and he’s a passionate Wolves fan. I do think though if offered a big salary and the chance to step up to a far bigger club like Arsenal, Nuno would bite our hands off. Having watched the rise and fall of Wolves over the years since the 60s, it’s clear they are the typical yo-yo club and will never match the achievements of Arsenal, but very of luck to you anyway.

    3. Would that be the Wolves BELOW this terrible dysfunctional Arsenal? I am sure you will not mind if I don’t hold my breath waiting for Wolves to break into the top six. You know, the top six that Arsenal are currently in right now but not Wolves.

  6. At times I feel Emery’s tactics and god’s forsaken tinkering would just stop.
    Another thing seriously Guys; none of our players from Head to Toe is actually digging in. IT HURTS! pretty bad..
    Honestly I have a strong feeling that TIERNY’ would be the turning wheel. But if Mr Emery’ starts selecting him ahead of his preferred occupier “Kolasinac” a burden to watch.
    Nothing is wrong with Emery At-times just that the Boys needs to put off their Lazy Lousy body language aside and play football amongst themselves with agility.
    I’d say Emery should even carry on till the season ends or probably January.
    Then anybody with the League experience should step in; NO foreign coach needed.

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