Arsenal: Do not bemoan managerial misfires

Many Arsenal fans are already dreaming of who the club might hire as their next head coach. And, well, there is no need to bemoan the latest misfires just yet.

Arsenal fans are essentially out on Unai Emery. Even if Tony Adams may claim that the problems at the exist far and beyond the Spanish head coach, a large portion of the fanbase does not agree. Emery is the primary individual to blame and, in their opinion, it is time to move on.

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Some portions of supporters are so far out on Emery that they have already considered what the team might look like under new managers, especially those that have top-level experience and are presently without a job.

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Chief among the potential future Arsenal head coaches that some fans had dreamt about was Jose Mourinho. After being fired by Manchester United, the Portuguese manager had resorted to punditry work with Sky Sports. However, there had been reports that he wanted to get back into top-level management, ideally still in England, although the number of clubs that would take a risk on him is an increasingly dwindling number.

Another was Luis Enrique. The Spaniard has coached Roma, Barcelona and the Spanish national team, including winning back to back La Ligas with Barcelona and a Champions League title as Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar ripped through the rest of Europe. Enrique also has a strong relationship with Arsenal head of football Raul Sanllehi and was available after leave his Spanish post following the death of his daughter in the summer.

However, in the past few days, both these managers have been snapped out by top jobs. Shockingly, Tottenham Hotspur replaced Mauricio Pochettino with Mourinho on Tuesday night, while Enrique returned to manage Spain earlier this week also. Some supporters’ dreams were shattered in the process.

Now, whatever you think of the job that Emery is currently doing at the Emirates, replacing him with either Mourinho or Enrique would not have been a smart move. Enrique has largely ridden on the back of the quality of his players and eventually left Barcelona in 2017 having endured a difficult season in which his team saw Real Madrid win both the league title and Champions League.

Mourinho, even more worryingly, has proven to be a dinosaur parading through modern football, wasting money on willy-nilly transfers, devastating clubs, before leaving them in the midst of despair within a matter of two or three years. Put simply, neither Mourinho nor Enrique would a be smart hire.

It may be frustrating to see the managerial carousel turning while Arsenal remain patient with a seemingly incompetent head coach, but those that are being snapped up are not the right man to lead the club forward. So, for now, do not bemoan the managerial misfires.