Arsenal: Ronald Koeman’s Future Could Be Determined Soon

Arsenal’s managerial future is up for grabs and Ronald Koeman is a front runner. It may even be fast tracked at the end of the season.

Given the direction of Arsenal’s system, it makes the most sense that they move for a Dutch manager. Someone who has been raised in the system that knows how it works. This Dutch system has led to tremendous success at Barcelona and despite Wenger’s efforts, he has been unable to replicate it.

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Lately, however, they have been gradually moving closer and closer to a full-on Cruyffian system. With youth coaching appointments following the Dutch mold, the senior team has to follow suit. The two leading candidates have to be Frank De Boer and Ronald Koeman. Of the two, Koeman’s experience in the Premier League makes him the more desirable candidate.

Not only that, but at Southampton, they have a fantastic youth system that has produced many a young talent. Some of which Arsenal have nabbed from them.

So Koeman gets it. He has experience doing what Arsenal is going for. With big time signings never part of their long-term success, a lot of what Arsenal is looking to do stems from a successful youth development system, which they have not been able to enact. Only Iwobi can make the claim of growing within the Arsenal system.

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However, Wenger is still here for another year (at least). That being said, his tenure is coming to its end and Arsenal, knowing how deliberate they are in their decision making, the process is surely under way. Conveniently enough, Koeman is ready to discuss his future at Southampton this summer, when he sits down with the brain trust of the organization.

With just a year left on his contract, these talks will determine what happens next on both sides. Koeman has had his frustrations at Southampton and if he has an opportunity to move to a Dutch system that he is familiar with, at a higher-profile club like Arsenal, it’s hard to imagine that he won’t leap at the opportunity.

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These talks are worth paying attention to. We may not know much going into next season and knowing Arsenal, they won’t pull a Manchester City and announce a new manager before an appointment has to be made, but if Koeman and Southampton cannot come to terms, we can be pretty confident that he will be available next summer, when Arsenal is looking for a new direction.