Arsenal: What if Mikel Arteta is the only available option?

Arsenal didn’t plan ahead. Which isn’t always a bad thing, but it is when it involves who follows up Arsene fricking Wenger. Could this turn bad quickly?

Arsenal haven’t been in this situation in a long time. Ivan Gazidis has never been in this situation. And for as wonderfully as Gazidis has been preparing this team for life after Arsene Wenger, he didn’t prepare the team for who actually comes after Arsene Wenger.

There are names being tossed about, and plenty of top names. Max Allegri seems to be dropping off the probability charts, as he announced he will likely be staying at Juventus. Patrick Vieira appears unwilling to leave New York City FC behind, although he may be swayed.

Julian Nagelsmann has emerged as a very serious contender, but there is always that chance that he will want to stick it out with his club, who he helped get back into the Champions League. So where does this leave Arsenal?

Without having someone lined up, each and every one of the solid options out there may very well find themselves better off where they already are. It’s not like anyone is holding out for the job – at least none of the best all-around candidates.

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Mikel Arteta, however, seems like he would be a shoe-in. He’s an assistant coach of two years, so being able to manage a top tier team would be a no-contest decision. He would absolutely do it.

For starters, while I am not totally sold on Arteta being the best candidate, stranger things have happened. You don’t have to be a superb player to be a good manager. Plus, Arsene Wenger trusted Arteta as the captain of Arsenal when he was playing, and that really does mean quite a bit.

But that being said, if we hire Arteta, it needs to be because the people in charge see him as the best possible option. And honestly, I’m not sure how they could unless none of these names being tossed around are available.

Which is what worries me. Why didn’t we plan ahead with this? This isn’t the kind of thing you can just leap into. Honestly, who would prefer having Arteta over having Wenger for one more year while a proper replacement is lined up? Not many.

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I think Arteta could be a great manager. I really do. But do you want to run that risk? Absolutely not.

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