Arsenal: 5 managerial candidates who could replace Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta is still the manager of Arsenal Football Club. That is the state of play and as of yet, there are no indications that he is nearing the exit door. But matters change quickly in the world of football and as the toxicity levels continue to rise, who knows what is on the horizon.

Just as there is a rebuilding project underway, Arteta too is a project. The youngest manager in the Premier League, hiring someone with no prior experience as a head coach to lead an overhaul of this scale was the route Arsenal went under.

Many supported the decision. This was a full scale restructuring the club and having someone who knows Arsenal better than most felt like the natural course of action after the failings of Unai Emery. However, such an appointment can be justified so long as there is the guidance and infrastructure around him to allow him to flourish.

There is none of that in north London.

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Arsenal: 5 managerial candidates who could replace Mikel Arteta as calls for the Spaniard to be sacked grow after Manchester City defeat

Investing heavily over the summer and still undergoing the vast gutting of an ageing and underperforming squad, the commitment to Arteta as a whole is evident. He’s been backed through the darkest times many supporters will ever have known.

How long can it continue, though? Defeat to Manchester City ensured the Gunners have got off to their worst ever start to a season and the joint-worst of any club in Premier League history.

Calls for his removal grow stronger by the minute and while it would be a genuine surprise to not see him in place for the fixtures to come after the international break, it would be equally foolish to not have contingency plans in place.

Who could Arsenal realistically move for is a key point. There are pipe-dream names being flung about, as well as other unsuited to the project at hand, but people are beginning to draw up their lists.

Everyone should, however, hope it never comes to this. Arteta is the manager and anyone who doesn’t want him to succeed should reassess their position as a supporter. Stability trumps change so long as it’s stability with progression. We hope it never has to come to this, but here are five of the options being mentioned across the discourse.

Let’s start with the rumours, ones that can and already have been extinguished.

Who would have thought that Antonio Conte, a manager with the third highest accumulative spend in history and a preference towards purchasing older, more established players to achieve immediate short-term success in his usually brief reigns in charge wouldn’t want to join Arsenal?

As a club, you can’t go out and sign five players aged 23 or under, promote a core group of young players who’ve been handed key squad numbers like No.7, No. 8 and No. 10 with a long-term vision of seeing them peak at similar times only to banish that thought for a manager with an entirely different philosophy.

Nobody disputes Conte’s brilliance. He understands football better than most and has left players such as Cesc Fabregas hailing him as the best in the business.

Unless there was a £200m warchest waiting for him and a substantial salary there is no way he joins.

End this discussion now.