Arsenal: Patrick Vieira a risk worth taking

Arsenal technical director Edu is reportedly pushing for the club to hire his former teammate Patrick Vieira as their new head coach. While the appointment would be a risk, it would be one worth taking.

Arsenal need a new head coach. And unlike when Liverpool hired Jurgen Klopp, Manchester City appointed Pep Guardiola or even Spurs sacked Mauricio Pochettino for Jose Mourinho earlier this season, there is not an obvious candidate to be found.

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In fact, more than a week after firing Unai Emery and the only substantial reports to come out of the club are that there is a large list of candidates that will gradually be whittled down through a conclusive interview process. Leicester City have completed more than Arsenal have in the past week, tying Brendan Rodgers to a new long-term contract.

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But as the process is slowly conducted, the leaks begin to come, and this weekend, the first real name has been dropped into the ring. Per The Times, technical director Edu Gaspar is pushing hard for the club to hire his former teammate, Patrick Vieira, to be the next head coach.

The Frenchman is currently serving his stripes at Nice. The Ligue 1 side moved up into 12th after a 4-1 win over Metz, who currently sit in 18th. It has not been the greatest season for Vieira and his team, but last year, he led them to a seventh-placed finish and lost the inimitable Allan Saint-Maximin in the summer to Newcastle United.

Vieira’s time in Nice follows an excellent period as New York City FC head coach. While the quality of Major League Soccer is up for debate, he was noted as one of the brightest young managers in the league, forming a brilliant team that played offensive football in an attractive, progressive manner.

NYCFC played in an extremely cohesive manner. Vieira looked for his team to press high up the pitch, move the ball quickly through the phases of play, and had a very clear identity, with which he did not compromise. Frank Lampard did not last long in New York because Vieira believed he did not suit his style.

He took the same hard-nosed approach with Andrea Pirlo, dropping the legless Italian from the team in favour of a more dynamic midfield approach. This ruthless management style, while admirable, is not enough to anoint Vieira as the next great manager. Rather, the results that came about because of the tough decisions he made are. Vieira dropped two star players for NYCFC without hesitation and saw his team improve as a result. God knows Arsenal could use a manager like that.

He is still a major risk. His time in France is not running as smoothly as he would have hoped and he is still relatively inexperienced as an elite-level manager, especially when compared to Massimilaino Allegri, Pochettino and others that have been linked with the job. This makes him an inherently uncertain prospect.

Nevertheless, Vieira has proven himself to be a capable tactician, a manager with a clear style and identity, a successful leader, and a progress coach. What more could Arsenal want? He is a risk, yes, but he is one worth taking.