HOWE’S THE TOP GUN
Cherries boss Ed of list for Wenger job
ARSENAL have earmarked Eddie Howe as a successor to Arsene Wenger.
The 38-year-old coach is highly rated after keeping Bournemouth in the Premier League last season and was even considered as a shock candidate for the England job before Sam Allardyce was chosen by the FA instead. Wenger has managed Arsenal for 20 years and is entering the final 12 months of his current contract. Although there is no suggestion he is heading for the chop imme- diately, Starsport can reveal the Gunners board would not have stood in Wenger’s way if he had wanted to take over as Three Lions boss next summer, as the FA had originally wanted.
It’s a clear signal that Arsenal are now preparing for life after the 66-year-old Frenchman.
Arsenal do not intend to let Wenger pick his eventual successor, although they will take his opinion into account.
But Howe’s attractive brand of football and adventurous approach
is being seen as a perfect fit in the corridors of power at the Emirates Stadium, with Wenger also a fan of his.
Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis yesterday turned up the heat on Wenger, publicly warning of the need to win major trophies and stressing Wenger’s past glories count for little.
Arsenal have not landed the Premier League title for 12 years, while three FA Cup wins has failed to stop unease among fans, some of whom protested against Wenger’s reign last season.
Wenger’s men were second in the league last season, pipping Tottenham at the death, but finishing 10 points adrift of champions Leicester.
“We don’t have any sense of nostalgia,” said Gazidis. “Our support for Arsene Wenger is not based on the history of what he’s done for our football club, as extraordinary as that is.
“We’re very focused on the future. This is one of our core values, that we’re progressive and always moving forward.
“So what’s happened in the past is far less relevant to us as what’s happening as we look forward.
“We need to win the major titles, and we feel that pressure every day.
“And so for us, there is a sense of disappointment and frustration that last season we finished in second place.
“Second place isn’t what we’re aiming for. We’re aiming to win it.
“Our objective is to win the major trophies, and to put the club in a position where it can consistently compete for the major trophies.
“And I would add, very importantly for us, to do it in a way that’s consistent with our club values.”