The Unai Emery era at Arsenal FC is in the books and the overall endgame was dismal.
It appears that the man in charge on a caretaker basis may not be the guy long term, so who is? Well, multiple reports indicate that the Kroenkes want a club man, Manchester City assistant Mikel Arteta, as the first choice. Is it going to happen?
Arteta is listed fourth on the boards at Irish sports book Paddy Power, who have the following ten candidates available for wagering on, and their respective odds are listed below. Also listed are each man’s percentage chances, via The Telegraph.
Max Allegri 11/10 48%
Best and brightest available, has been for some time. This would be the safe choice.
Nuno Espirito Santo 4/1 20%
Hot up-and-coming name, what he’s done with Wolves has made him a sought after commodity.
Freddie Ljungberg 6/1 14%
He’ll get adequate time to audition for the gig, but today was a really bad first impression.
Mikel Arteta 6/1 14%
We covered him in the intro; seems to be the dream hire option right now.
Mauricio Pochettino 10/1 9%
What a plot twist this would be; from one side of the North London Derby to the other. Not very likely though as Poch will likely take some off before jumping in on the next gig. His agent will be taking a lot of calls, and deservedly so.
Rafa Benitez 12/1 8%
He’s right after Allegri as the second most accomplished manager available on the free market.
Carlo Ancelotti 14/1 7%
By international law, you must include him in all big club managerial candidate speculation listicles. If you don’t you will be forced to stand trial at The Hague.
Patrick Vieira 16/1 6%
Probably the right solution long-term, but you have to ride or die for the long haul, and really let him do his thing.
Brendan Rodgers 16/1 6%
Long shot at best, he’s got a good thing going right now and it’s almost certainly too soon for another move.
Eddie Howe 20/1 5%
Highly regarded for what he’s been able to do on the south coast, but the results with Bournemouth are unconvincing.
Off the boards, not going to happen
Thierry Henry
When Arsene Wenger retired/was forced out, there was a lot of sentiment for this club man, but obviously not anymore. His flaming out horribly at Monaco led to the Frenchman just recently signing on as the Montreal Impact manager in Major League Soccer. Maybe if that goes well, and his next stop after that, he could be the next Arsenal mentor after the next one?
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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