Arsenal could move for Poch
● Arsenal have drawn up an extensive list of candidates to replace Unai Emery as head coach after the Spaniard was sacked following the club’s worst run of results since 1992.
Despite his sacking, Emery insisted it had been an “honour” to manage the London giants. “It has been a year and a half full of emotions, of great moments and some other more bitter ones,” he said.
Mauricio Pochettino, Nuno Espirito Santo, Massimiliano Allegri and Carlo Ancelotti are all among the contenders to replace Emery.
Pochettino is understood to be the preferred candidate, with Arsenal keen to appoint a coach with Premier League experience, but they would face a major battle to persuade the former Tottenham Hotspur manager to take the job so soon after his departure from their north London rivals. Pochettino has previously said he would “never” manage Arsenal.
Allegri, the former Juventus manager, is also available having been out of work since the northern summer, though there are concerns that his lack of English could hamper his communication skills, while Nuno has impressed Arsenal’s hierarchy with his work at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Freddie Ljungberg, the former Arsenal midfielder, has been promoted from first-team coach to interim head coach and has a chance to press his own credentials in a series of winnable matches in the coming weeks.
Among the other candidates are Manchester City assistant coach Mikel Arteta and Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira, who is in charge of Chinese side Shanghai SIPG.
Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, has said he hopes Arteta stays at the club, but added that he will not stand in the Spaniard’s way if he wishes to leave.
There will be no shortage of suitors for the Arsenal job, despite their current position of eighth in the table.
Earlier reports yesterday said that
Ancelotti, the three-time Champions League winner and Napoli manager, was being considered by Arsenal, but the club are believed to prefer a younger option.
There had been genuine reluctance among the executives and the owners to sack Emery, but it was decided that the performances, results and mood around the club had left them with little choice.
The Spaniard, whose work ethic has never been questioned, is understood to have responded professionally to the decision.
Club sources have spoken glowingly of Ljungberg’s impact since joining the firstteam coaching set-up.
A former Arsenal player, who won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, Ljungberg is said to be more in tune with the club’s “values” and is a more popular presence at the training ground than his predecessor was. — © The Daily Telegraph, London ● ➽