Arsenal without the Arsene

With it looking increasingly likely that Wenger will be leaving at the end of the season, who do we think Arsenal will appoint?

There doesn't look like there is particularly a lot of options right now. I'd have thought the names that will get mentioned will be:

Eddie Howe - He has done well with Bournemouth, but has he really shown enough to warrant the move to Arsenal. The positives are that he plays to a strict style which is similar to what Arsenal have played for a while now and with better players he should have less problem implementing that properly. Bournemouth finished 16th last year, which was probably a slight over-achievement but nothing outstanding - I'd go as far as to say it was less impressive than Brendan Rodgers at Swansea just a couple of years before and he wasn't ready for the big job. Even somebody like David Moyes who did consistently well with Everton for over a decade, struggled to replace Ferguson. I could see a similar thing happening with Howe. He's obviously young and talented though, so appointing him now could be the start of another 20 year reign. 

Laurent Blanc - It's hard to judge Blanc and his success as a manager. He overachieved at Bordeaux, winning the league and cup as well as performing well in the Champions League. His reign as French manager was okay, he was only manager for two years, was there for one tournament where they go to the quarter finals, so that can't be considered a failure. He then took over PSG and won the league every year, did two domestic trebles and reached the quarter finals each year. This was a mixed bag, domestically they were fantastic, but did as expected, on the European stage the owners felt that PSG had under-performed. Arsenal have obviously been happy just qualifying for the Champions League for the past decade, so there is considerably less pressure, but there's also considerably less funds and domestic dominance. 

Joachim Low - A World Cup winning manager but one relatively untested at club level. He hasn't held a club manager position since 2004 and his career is pretty unimpressive up until the time he became Germany manager. His success with Germany comes with several asterisks. The foundation was laid down by Jurgen Klinsmann when Low was his assistant manager, so it's difficult to measure whether he can be totally responsible for the long-term success. Not to mention he was gifted with one of the most talented international sides of all time. Players such as Philip Lahm, Basten Schweinsteiger, Mauel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Mezut Ozil and others will likely go down as some of the best German players of all time, were they destined to win the World Cup anyway? Some could even say he simply used the successful formula that Guardiola had been implementing at club level where much of the German side were playing each week. This includes moving Lahm into midfield. Once the Wenger-effect has worn off, can Low build his own side?

Dennis Bergkamp - Probably the only realistic option when looking at ex-Arsenal players. Patrick Vieira is very much embedded into the 'City' experiment and Thierry Henry has no experience right now. Bergkamp has been assistant manager for 5 years now, learning from Frank DeBoer and now remains. An intelligent player and a good coach, does he have the personality to take on a manager's role, particularly the first being at a club of Arsenal's size? The fact that he is an Arsenal legend will give him more time but it's probably too big of a step. It might be worth appointing him as assistant manager of whoever does come in though and groom him as the next manager.

Roberto Mancini - Ex-Manchester City and two time Inter Milan coach, it's hard to say whether Mancini is a good coach or not. He has won the Serie A three times, the Premier League once and then a handful of cup competitions over the years. He's a feisty personality though and he doesn't particularly have a footballing philosophy in the same way that Wenger does. 

Diego Simeone - Has managed to break up the Barcelona-Real dominance of La Liga as well as bring considerable success in Europe. However his style of football goes against a lot of what Wenger has established at Arsenal. Perhaps that is a positive? A clean break from Wenger, but will Arsenal fans accept the aggressive and defensive football of Simeone, who has drawn comparisons with Mourinho - a hated figure at Arsenal. He's shown clear success and on a smaller budget than his rivals, so Simeone could be a great fit for Arsenal. 


Then there's a handful of other managers, some more realistic than others such as Unai Emery, Quique Flores, Ronald Koeman, Luis Enrique, Jorge Sampaoli, Thomas Tuchel, Slaven Bilic and more. However, none particularly stand out as the best replacement for Wenger. 

Whilst he doesn't have the same level of success of Ferguson had Manchester United, Wenger and Arsenal are embedded together. It's hard to think of Arsenal without him at this point and it's very unlikely to be a pleasant transition.

Patrick Vieira has already moved on from Man City - he was appointed as head coach of the MLS' New York City FC on January 1, 2016:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/09/patrick-vieira-appointed-new-york-city-fc-head-coach

I think Diego Simeone is the best of the new breed of coaches not already managing in the premiership.  I think he can get Arsenal winning trophies again if he is appointed.  But it is tough in the premiership with billionaire owners and world class managers.

Nore Staat wrote:Patrick Vieira has already moved on from Man City - he was appointed as head coach of the MLS' New York City FC on January 1, 2016:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/09/patrick-vieira-appointed-new-york-city-fc-head-coach

I think Diego Simeone is the best of the new breed of coaches not already managing in the premiership.  I think he can get Arsenal winning trophies again if he is appointed.  But it is tough in the premiership with billionaire owners and world class managers.

Aren't they owned by the Man City Sheik? so he isn't that far away from City

Nore Staat wrote:Patrick Vieira has already moved on from Man City - he was appointed as head coach of the MLS' New York City FC on January 1, 2016:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/09/patrick-vieira-appointed-new-york-city-fc-head-coach

The 'City' experiment is Manchester City, New York City, and Melbourne City. They're all owned by the same group. I think there's an experiment on Vieira to try and get him ready for the Manchester City job eventually.

Fair enough.   Sheik Mansoor seems to partly own the United Arab Emirates and the oil that goes with it.  So he has the wealth of an oil nation behind him.  Difficult to argue with that.

I see the independent are touting Vieira for the Arsenal job:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/arsenal-news-patrick-vieira-emerge-contender-arsene-wenger-job-manager-a7346196.html

My boss is an Arsenal supporter and a big fan of Arsene but even he says that despite being unimpressed with Arsene of late, once he goes, Arsenal are likely to suffer and suffer badly (his words, not mine)

Blanc seems realistic, has the playing and managerial achievements to back it up.

I'd like them to take the risk on Howe. I don't think Simeone suits them at all. Tuchel might hold an interest, I'm sure Big Paddy V will be considered, and a Luis Enrique figure could be free come the end of the season.

Bilic and Koeman, especially the latter, having impressive seasons (and one seems a lot more likely than the other!) would put them in with a shout.

Koeman probably my top pick at the moment as he's taken a sideways step with Everton and looks to have the pedigree.

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:I'd like them to take the risk on Howe. I don't think Simeone suits them at all. Tuchel might hold an interest, I'm sure Big Paddy V will be considered, and a Luis Enrique figure could be free come the end of the season.

Bilic and Koeman, especially the latter, having impressive seasons (and one seems a lot more likely than the other!) would put them in with a shout.

Koeman probably my top pick at the moment as he's taken a sideways step with Everton and looks to have the pedigree.

Simeone doesn't suit Arsenal currently, but there's definitely an argument there to say they might be better off going for a complete break from Wenger and bring in Simeone to stamp his own style on the club, rather than let somebody try and emulate Wenger.

There is, but I don't think it's one a lot of their fans will accept, and the fact their board have allowed them to be Wenger and the Wenger mould for so long without success suggests it's a theme they want continuing

Arsenal need to change the "Wenger style" to a "winning style".  Wenger helped create a revolution in British football in terms of nutrition and fitness but he has been left behind at the very top ... some say he inherited a defensive side which helped him in the first half of his reign but that ultimately he lacks an adequate defensive understanding needed for todays Premiership and European competitions.  He has no European silverware.  That said I don't think anyone is going to reproduce Wenger's "top four" Premiership consistency.

Didier Deschamps is a decent bet.

Deschamps is beyond awful

That's a bit harsh John. I see a lot of Wenger in Deschamps.

Given Swansea couldn't match his lofty ambitions, maybe Ryan Giggs should take over and show everyone how it's done.