Arsenal: So… who was managerial option No. 3?

Ivan Gazidis revealed how Unai Emery was chosen, and in the process, revealed that the Arsenal ‘deciders’ had a third option. Who would that have been?

The more I know about the appointment of Unai Emery as the manager of Arsenal, the more I love it. I hated it at first, completely and wholly. But rashness has turned into unbridled excitement as I look forward to what’s to come.

Most recently, Ivan Gazidis revealed the most exciting bit – that it was unanimous. Apparently all the deciders sat around a table and listed the three options in order of their preference. Emery took top spot each time.

Mikel Arteta was also in the running, and would have been handed the job if voted for, but it was Emery’s day to win.

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My question is, if this was the set-up that these three options were to be ranked – and knowing that they likely weren’t ranking guys that wouldn’t accept the job (Max Allegri, for instance) then who was option No. 3?

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For all intents and purposes, it has only been Emery (albeit briefly) and Arteta who were ‘in line’ to receive the job offer. So that accounts for two of the three spots.

The two names that have to be considered are Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, but other than that, there really aren’t that many options. Thomas Tuchel is with PSG. Carlo Ancelotti went to Napoli. Max Allegri made it clear he would be staying at Juventus.

The options were well and truly limited to the point that it felt like it would be Arteta or bust. Vieira and Henry were both talked about so minimally, and with very little aplomb, that it’s hard for me to definitely say “oh, it must have been such and such.”

Obviously it doesn’t matter. Emery is the man whether we like it or not (hint: we should love it) and whoever was the third option means jack. I’m just speaking from a curiosity standpoint, because you know Gazidis is never going to name names.

Unfortunately (I guess I can say that) I don’t think it was Vieira. He seemed to get the absolute shaft from the club yet again, which remains completely inexplicable.

Which means, by process of elimination, that it may well have been Henry that was the third place option. Which, honestly, is kind of scary. That he could get that close to running the club.

Next: 3 Things Unai Emery Will Offer As Manager

But again, this is all speculation. I’m not too worried about it beyond curiosity’s sake. Bring on the Emery era!