Arsenal: What has Patrick Vieira ever done wrong?

Arsenal look set to name Mikel Arteta their next manager, and all I want to know is why Patrick Vieira has never been given a fair shake.

Far be it from me to complain about Arsenal making any managerial appointment not named Mauricio Pochettino. But I’m just a little confused about one small thing as we prepare to welcome Mikel Arteta as the next manager of this fine club.

That question is why Patrick Vieira has always felt like such an outside candidate looking in.

When you stack him up against Arteta, you see certain similarities and certain differences. They both captained from the midfield of this club. One with far more success than the other. One is a legend, one will never be (at least not for his play).

As for managerial experience, Arteta has none. Not a minute. Vieira completely changed the way New York City FC are run. He scrapped the superstar bloating and built a team rather than bought it. Which is such an exact play-by-play of what Arsenal need to do.

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Plus, Vieira has never said a bad word about his former club, nor will he. He comes from the Arsene Wenger school of upstanding behavior. Not that Arteta doesn’t, but in an era when even Thierry Henry bashes his former club at times, Vieira never does.

Vieira has also moved in to managing in Europe, where he is now heading Nice in Ligue 1.

Even when Arsene Wenger first retired, and Patrick Vieira was readily available, it felt like he was never really considered. People cried that he didn’t have enough experience, yet here we are about to welcome Arteta with open arms.

Don’t get me wrong, of course I am rooting for Arteta, and I’m excited to see what he can do. He has the backing of some rather astute men. But Vieira does too. He just doesn’t need it to be stated outright. No one would ever question Vieira’s dedication to the club, his intelligence within the sport and his general positivity as a human being.

But yet the club he helped drive to so much success has yet to make him even somewhat of an option.

Maybe that’s because they can’t get him until the end of the year, who knows. One thing’s for sure, Vieira is not going to openly talk about it because he’d see it as a direct rival to his current duties in France.