Dan’s Opinion -The Top Ten Favourites for Arsenal manager assessed

So, it’s international break which means it’s time for another list on Just Arsenal.

With a lot of gooners wanting the club to sack Emery, who is currently in the best position to replace him and be our next manager?

Here are the Top Ten favourites according to most bookies, with average prices

Eddie Howe 20-1

He has long been seen as suitable for us, as he has Bournemouth playing football in a style which matches our ethos. Even when things are not going well Eddie Howe will not abandon his footballing principles. It’s no disrespect to the Cherries to say though a move to North London would represent a massive jump.

A former player at Dean Court, Howe has led their journey from League Two, meaning he has a control he wouldn’t have with us. The question is are we at a place in our history where we can be taking a gamble? If the answer was no when we replaced Mr Wenger, why would he be a consideration now?

Thierry Henry 16-1
If the Board’s criteria ends up being an ex-legend who knows the values of the club then who better than the greatest scorer in our history?

Yes, it didn’t work out at Monaco, but should you be written off just because one job doesn’t work out for you? It should be taken into consideration the problems the French side were facing, and it shouldn’t undermine the work he did with Arsenal’s under 18’s or as assistant coach with Belgium. The fear is he will take the easy way out and take the well-paid route of punditry.

It would be a romantic appointment. There are many examples of ex-players being great managers and the other way around.

Patrick Vieira – 16-1
His reputation is growing with Nice where maybe, unlike Henry, he has proven he can get the best out of talents maybe not as good as he was. It’s worth pointing out though he was apparently offended not to make Arsenal’s shortlist last time, especially when it was clear they were considering ex-players. That was when he was part of Man City’s set up, coaching their American franchise. Will his time in France have changed the perception of him within our recruitment team?

Brendan Rodgers 12-1
A good price as he meets a lot of the criteria. He plays positive football, trusts youth and for the sake of getting such a high-profile job would tolerate a limited budget. Yet do you want to replace Emery with an appointment which would divide the fan base? Some feel his work at Leicester made some gooners wrong to originally dismiss him as Arsene Wenger’s replacement.

Yet I would still argue, is winning the SPL with Celtic enough to prove you can manage the expectations of Arsenal? Even with the Foxes, it’s a different environment where you are expected to win every week. When things went wrong at Liverpool he was shown to be out of his depth, with each press conference more cringeworthy then the last.

Ljungberg 8-1
Could find himself in right place at the right time in terms of; If the club felt compelled to make a sudden switch, our Assistant manager might be asked to take the role short term. The likes of Solskjaer at United show what can happen when your given such an opportunity. Like Di Matteo at Chelsea, in the short-term he could tell the players what they want to hear, then worry about the rest once he got the gig full time.

Remember it was the club not Emery who chose to promote the Swede from being the Under 23 coach, so don’t assume he agrees with our current style of play. He’s been trusted because of his work with our youngsters making him a crucial link between their progression to the main squad. Gooners want to re-find our identity. As an Invincible who played in our most successful era, Freddie’s been taught the Arsenal Way.

Allegri 6-1
Won 4 consecutive Doubles for Juventus before choosing to go on a sabbatical. So, when he wants to return this man can have the choice of any job available. I find some gooners arrogant that they think this is a realistic appointment. Do you know how many aspects of the club would have to change for him to consider us?

Which is a shame, on the surface, we should be an attractive vacancy. Living in London, proud history, huge fan base, great youngsters maturing and brilliant facilities. Yet an Allegri wouldn’t take a job to battle for 4th, he would want to see a long-term plan where we can be Champions. That means a transfer budget and an element of control that the Kroenke’s simply won’t give.

Enrique 6-1
Again, consider that top names were not interested in replacing Arsene Wenger when they heard they only had 50 million to spend. That would have to change to get a proven name. Enrique will play a style of football that fans like, but it’s more a case of what we can offer him than the other way around. He walked away from Barcelona and had ambitions to lead his country before the death of his daughter, so it is arrogant of our fan base to think he would agree to work under the current set up without radical changes.

Arteta 5-1
One of the favourites as we know he was reportedly days away from getting the job, before at the last moment it was decided to go for the more experienced Emery. That’s given our former captain another two years to work with Pep Guardiola where seemingly the presumption is that he’s learnt a lot from the best. While he can copy training methods off Pep, he wouldn’t have the unlimited transfer and wage bill he has enjoyed at the Etihad if he came to the Emirates.
Unless he thinks he’s being groomed to be the next Man City manager, this would be a job offer too good for the Spaniard to turn down.

Jose Mourinho 2-1
I would personally want bigger odds then this. For me, he’s only favourite because of lazy journalism. The Portuguese coach has a house in London … that’s it. Everything else suggests it’s unlikely. His footballing principles greatly contradict ours. He only takes jobs where he can spend serious money, something our owners have never done. He likes full control over a club at a time where the Arsenal Board have put a set up in place behind the scenes.

With our fan base toxic, he would be a choice that makes some gooners angry. He’s never lasted more than three years anywhere and we need someone for the long term. While in the short term he could win us a Europa League or the FA Cup, it’s at the price of horrible press conferences, picking on players and falling out with those above him.

Not just ‘why would we want him?’, but also ‘why would he want us?’ The juice is just not worth the squeeze…

So, these are the Top Ten Favourites, but who do you want as next manager?

Be kind in Comments

Dan Smith