Unai Emery is under immense pressure and after Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Southampton, calls for his sacking have grown louder. The Daily Mail now report that the club have now begun the process of identifying his replacement.
There are reportedly members in the Gunners hierarchy who have lost all confidence in the Spaniard and thus want him replaced. The report by the British tabloid mentions a few names wanted by those figures as a successor to Unai.
Two are unemployed and thus available, one is employed elsewhere, and then there is the final short-term option. Massimiliano Allegri is one this list of potential candidates, and for obvious reasons, after enjoying tremendous success with Juventus before quitting the club last summer.
The Italian is a proven tactician and has his fair share of admirers at the Emirates Stadium. However, he isn’t the only name as Mikel Arteta, the former Arsenal captain who has been Guardiola’s right-hand at Man City, could return to the fold after narrowly missing out on the position to Emery.
Allegri has been linked with a move to Napoli amid the uncertainty surrounding Ancelotti and given that there could be a few more lucrative positions available come the summer, he might be a hard catch. As for Arteta, the Spaniard has no experience as a coach, having only been an assistant to one of the greatest managers in history.
Mauricio Pochettino, who was recently sacked by Tottenham, is another available coach who is highly-rated by members of the Gunners board. However, there are several factors working against them here as well, number one being his affiliation with their north London rivals Spurs and two being Real Madrid’s interest in the Argentine – who can say no to Los Blancos?
Finally, the short-term fix would be to promote Freddie Ljungberg as interim-coach, alongside Steve Bould, in order to stabilize the ship until next summer. The Swedish icon works closely with the younger players, many of whom have made it into the first-team.
Fans who eagerly desire to see Emery sacked should not get their hopes up just yet as the Daily Mail claims that the board wants to see improvement, Raul Sanllehi and Edu are ready to hand the Spaniard more time to save his job. Aubameyang and Co. are winless in their last six games in all competitions and have won only once from their last eight, so something must change and it must happen quickly.
