Arsenal could do a lot worse than replacing Wenger with Vieira | OneFootball

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Dan Burke·24 April 2018

Arsenal could do a lot worse than replacing Wenger with Vieira

Article image:Arsenal could do a lot worse than replacing Wenger with Vieira

In the coming weeks, Arsenal’s board will be forced to appoint a new manager for the first time in over two decades, but whoever they go for, nobody should be expecting instant miracles overnight.

During his 22 years at the helm, Arsène Wenger has completely controlled every single aspect of the club and though the Frenchman must take a substantial share of the responsibility for the Gunners’ recent slide down English football’s pecking order, he will leave behind a huge knee-length coat to fill.


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Wenger’s successor will not be required to have anything like the same level of supremacy, nor will they be expected to stay in the role for anywhere near as long as he did, but the temptation to hire a manager for whom Arsenal will be just another job should be avoided if at all possible.

Arsenal have a number of talented players in their squad at present and the spending power to sign a few more, but there isn’t an available manager in world football who will be able to get them back in contention for the biggest prizes as early as next season, or probably even the season after.

Perhaps Carlo Ancelotti, Massimiliano Allegri or Luis Enrique might have the nous to get them pointing in the right direction again but if, two or three years down the line, a manager of that ilk has only made marginal progress, where do Arsenal go from there?

After the frustrating final years of Wenger’s tenure, how much patience will the Gunners faithful have if an established manager can’t produce overnight success?

That’s why Arsenal’s board would be wise to consider making a less pressurised piece of recruitment this summer. Somebody who has demonstrated great potential but won’t come with an overwhelming weight of expectation. Somebody like Patrick Vieira.

Vieira, of course, captained Arsenal under Wenger during one of the most successful periods of the club’s history and moved straight into coaching when his playing days came to an end.

After cutting his teeth with Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad, the Frenchman became head coach of New York City FC in January 2016 and though his managerial career hasn’t been a roaring success, he has earned a reputation for exciting, attacking football and the results are now beginning to follow.

Article image:Arsenal could do a lot worse than replacing Wenger with Vieira

The World Cup winner has experience of managing big name stars – such as David Villa, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard – and would command respect in an Arsenal dressing room filled with players who would have grown up watching him play.

And while his relative inexperience means Vieira wouldn’t be expected to perform astonishing feats immediately, his enduring popularity with the club’s fans means perhaps some of his failings would be excused too, at least in the early stages.

But if not him, maybe another former Arsenal captain should be considered as a potential option.

Mikel Arteta only finished playing for the club in 2016 and has been earning his stripes for the past couple of seasons as a member of Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff at Manchester City.

According to reports on Monday, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis believes Arteta has what it takes to succeed in the role and is being strongly considered, despite his lack of managerial experience.

Article image:Arsenal could do a lot worse than replacing Wenger with Vieira

Should Arsenal plump for a more established option, then they should be doing everything in their power to bring somebody like Arteta or Vieira in to work alongside the new man, and put in place a succession plan so that next time there’s a managerial vacancy at the Emirates, somebody is primed and ready to step into the breach.

Some might argue Arsenal should learn from the mistakes made by Manchester United when trying to replace Sir Alex Ferguson and not gamble on a candidate who isn’t going to be a sure-fire hit straight off the bat.

But wasn’t David Moyes supposed to be a sure fire hit? And does such a thing even exist in football at the moment?