Are Arsenal lining up a move for former Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri if Arteta fails in Europa? by Yash
In a shocking revelation, reports in Italy suggest that Arsenal are trying to replace current manager Mikel Arteta with Maurizio Sarri in the summer. The Gunners coach has treaded on thin ice, with the club lying in mid-table for the majority of the current campaign.
If the Gunners fail to win the Europa League, they will be without any European competition for the first time in 25 years.
That’s a grim situation for any manager managing Arsenal, who will naturally come under scrutiny.
Mikel Arteta’s team sit at ninth position, an astonishing 31 points behind league leaders Manchester City and 12 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
The report of Sarri replacing Arteta was published by Football Italia, who claimed that Arsenal as well as their London rivals Tottenham are in negotiations with the Italian.
It said, ‘Sources have told Football Italia that Arsenal have also begun talks with Sarri as they prepare for life after Mikel Arteta, who is expected to leave the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season.’
The former Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus manager is believed to be open to a return to England after having managed the London side Chelsea for just a year.
Although the 62-year-old was sacked by the Blues due to some dressing room issues, his stint is considered a successful one as he drove the Londoners to a third place finish and a Europa League title.
The report from Football Italia is an intriguing one, with many publications previously reporting that Mikel Arteta has the full backing from the Arsenal board, but of course he may have been told privately that he must make sure we are in Europe next season.
But even the Arsenal fans, who have utmost trust in the young manager, would agree that the former Man City assistant coach’s stint at Arsenal have been far from what they can call a success.
Could it be win or bust for Arteta in the Europa League?
Good morning.
Sacking Arteta is NOT the answer, Arsenal have to many players that are passed their best and the young with a mixture of new signings are what is required. when you look at the early part of his tenure, FA Cup which we should have done better and Europa, we not be in this position, but having said that the team needs massive clear out and re investment in certain areas, the main point is the ownership that have been stingy with funding and had the funding been given when Arsene was in charge then things would be a hole loft different. the club needs new owners, who will invest as this all to apparent as just remember look where Arteta came from and what he did there, the funds need to be made and then we shall see what type manager he is, but he’s done a good job up until now as the Emery days were awful, predictable and he’s changed that. He has created stability a good ethos, and players back from injury, but if i were him I would play the youngsters till end of the season, let them learn with game time as that is where Arsenal future lay with the odd good signing like Odegard if we can get him.
Done a good job up until now??? Are you sure Pal??? Who are you??? HIS MUM???Look at our league position. Actually try watching some of our games. See how poor the football is. And YOU believe he has “done a good job so far”?. Seriously PAL. You have got out of bed too early this morning. Hi back snd sleep off whatever delusional thoughts that got into your head.
Phil, you never fail to make things personal. This is not the place to throw insults around. Kindly take your aggression elsewhere, it’s not welcome here.
And you are WHO exactly PAL thinking you can tell me what to do?
Yes we have been in total chaos with lots of internal and external obstacles.
We have an unbalance mediocre squad sourunded by a hostile environment, not particularly beneficial for our players or manager. When you are struggling you need to build confidende not easy surrounded by nagativity. In a normal season with summer break and proper preseasons preparations we could / would have done better.
This season is the most complicated since the 50s, not particuraly beneficial for a struggling club. Our play are influenced by lack of break between previous and this season. Influenced by lack of proper preseason preparations. Influenced by injuries on key players in a squad lacking squad depth. Influenced by the facts that we are playing same number of games in a shorter time span. Due to our game schedule don’t we have much time to train during the week either.
Arteta has done several mistakes, but we can’t blame him for all the problems he inheriteded from the past, and we can’t blame him for all the problems the pandemic are creating for us either.
We can sack Arteta tomorrow, but do we get any success guarantee with a new manager?
I agree with a lot of your points Paul. I’m torn about Arteta, I wanted the club to give him a “proper” chance to improve things, let him buy in his own choice of players & cast-off the chaff. BUT this “blind adoration” of Stan & Josh Kronke and “you’ll like them if you give them a chance” crap has put me off him big-time. If they sack him, we get another coach who will struggle to utilise this selection of players & another mid-table finish. It doesn’t look good for the future.
If you check the data on TransferMarkt.com then you will find that Arsenal are in the top five for net transfer expenditure over the last four or five years, depending on exactly which figures you look at and so on.
The Kroenkes may not have put much of their own money into the club, but a lack of transfer funds can’t be used to justify Arsenals position in the league.
If you look at some of the teams we have beaten, you cant argue for a lack of quality in the squad, maybe a lack of depth.
Likewise some of the injuries could probably have been avoided or reduced by a better squad rotation system.
There is no denying there have been some baffling team selections, e.g. the repeated selection of Willian when it was clear his confidence had gone last autumn, or the lack if a striker against Villereal.
Add to that the choice and timing of some of the substitutions.
Much of this is directly under Arteta’s responsibility.
No, Im sorry, Arteta has not done well.
Arteta hasn’t done well, based on reality or our unrealistic expectations?
What about state of club when he arrived? What about all the problems he inheriteded from the past? What about our unbalanced mediocre squd he has stared to rebuild. What about tha pandemic, was that beneficial to our already struggling club. What about the fact that we started this season three weeks after the previous without summer break and proper preseason preparations? What about the hostile environment surrounding our club, which is only beneficial to our opponents.
Would we have done better in a normal season with normal preparations? No doubt, but no managaer can do magic with our squad, lacking quality and depth.
Lack quality? Really?
Auba is top scorer his entire career, golden boot his first year in PL and 1 goal off his 2nd. Arteta has failed to use him properly.
Partey world class midfielder with history and CL history to back it up. Again, Arteta fails to use him properly.
Saka best young player in England, Tierney among best LB in the League, Luiz solid CB, not to mention the 7 players Arteta hand-picked for his team.
No, Arteta has underperformed without a doubt, and has done worse than his predecessors. Did Covid not affect West Ham or Leicester? Chelsea who was even on points with us before they fired Lampard?
The excuses for Arteta roll on and he gets a free pass when better managers were sacked for delivering better results.
We have a unbalanced mediocre squad lacking creativity and dept. When a few key players are out do we look like bang average team.
Arteta fails to use Partey properly, really funny. We are lacking a top class player next to him. In addition have Partey been struggling with injuries and form. I’m sure Partey is a good signing and he will show more when fully adapted.
Luiz is a good CB, no, he’s a loose cannon and have problems to stay focused, which have resulted in red cards, stupid involvements and several penalties. Here are some examples of CB’s way better than Luiz.:
Stones, Laporte, Diaz, Van Dijk, Gomez, Thiago Silva, Westergaard, Çaglar Söyüncü, Wesley Fofana, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa Ngoyo. This is the level of quality we need if we want to compete top four in PL.
Luiz is nothing but average like several of our players, and that’s the main reason why we are struggling. Comparing our situation with West Ham and Leicester is pathetic, do they have our problems? Do they also have a hostile environment surrounding their club? It takes time to fix our problem, but with better squad balance I’m convinced that next season will be much better.
Do we get a success guarantee with your next manager? If not I do stick with Arteta another season 👍
Ones things for sure is that one of the Spanish Frank Spencer’s will be knocked out tonight .
Arteta should be gone even if he some how pulls off winning the EL .
@Dan kit
Wow!! What an ignorant comment!!
You often prove how little knowledge you have of Arsenal, and football in general, but you have outdone yourself with that comment “Arteta should be gone even if he some how pulls off winning the EL ”
So winning a European trophy (something we haven’t done in nearly 30 years, and only twice in the club’s entire history), and qualifying for the CL, in his first full season, is not good enough? Add the FA Cup, and Community Shield win, and that would be an impressive haul in just 17 months, especially given the state of the club was in when Arteta arrived.
So what was expected then Dan? We’ve established that European success, and CL qualification is a sackable offence, given what you’ve just said, so the only thing left to avoid the sack would be winning the league then.
And you wonder why I often question your IQ level!
Sorry I didn’t know we had Sir Alex Ferguson in the chat .
Mate the only reason you want him here is because you don’t want to be proven wrong with your silly little Wenger agenda and cringe excuses .
You do realise we are losing 2-1 and got completely outplayed in the first leg ,in a cup likened to the carling cup .
And I did t think the FA cup was a trophy you would count as an impressive haul seeing Wenger won it some many times but no credit was given to him .
Stick to your silly little conspiracy theories buddy .
@DanKit- have you noticed how TMJW has been very slowly and slyly changing his yip thoughts over Arteta recently? He’s gone from a total love-in to now actually questioning his position. Didn’t take long did it? He changes his thoughts to suit what everyone else thinks eventually, which is what makes him look so embarrassed most of the time.
And I’m with you on Arteta- winning the Europa League should never gloss over the sim0,e fact that this novice has single handedly taken us BACKWARDS. And anyone who disagrees with that should, as TMJW says, Question their knowledge of football.
@Dan kit
You have proved my point about your IQ, thanks Dan!
Spot on! Do we get a success guarentee with a new manager, or perhaps we should just replace the next one as well 🙂
@Dan kit
Yes, I’m such a wacky conspiracy theorist for what I said about the vaccines…oh no wait, but people have been dropping dead because of it, and Denmark has even banned the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Looks like my knowledge on the vaccine spot on, and I repeat, I am glad I haven’t risked my life on a vaccine that hasn’t finished the trail stage, for a non fatal virus.
Yet again, your comments have been easily debunked with facts. Unless you’re now claiming that Denmark is part of an anti-vax conspiracy, and that you’re denying that people have died as a direct result of taking the vaccine?
So it looks like it isn’t just footballing knowledge you’re struggling with. Better luck next time Dan!
Hey I’m not sure that over 2 million dead means this is a “non-fatal” virus!
Give it a rest buddy
Your excuses are legendary,spin spin and more spin .
Explain how what I just said was an “excuse” and not a stone cold fact?
You don’t like it because what I have been saying for over a year about the vaccine was true, and I have completely destroyed your argument.
Did I just get lucky? No! Because I am not a sheep who just believes anything anyone (especially the government) tells me. I do my own research, gathering as much information as possible from multiple sources. I wish everyone would do this.
I think you are right Dan. Such tendency is typical of a ‘big’ club.
But I genuinely believe he should be given the whole of next season for the decision to be absolute – even though he does not win the Europa League this season.
What do you think?
I hesitate to write this but I honestly believe it’s a younger man’s job.
Elaborate, Sue.
Ok then Sean M I’ll give it my best shot
Mourhino is past it at 58
Ancelotti at over 60 is teetering for me although with previous impressive CV. I may be wrong but I don’t think he will be a league winning manager at Everton
At risk of offending some I’d put AW in this category. His finest achievements were when he was younger
There is no obvious reason that I can say categorically that older managers are not up to it but the younger generation are more energised with new ideas possibly?
Klopp at 53 is in his prime as is Pep at 50. Rodgers is in his late 40s. as is Thomas Tuchel
No doubt I will be challenged on this.
I agree, but Arteta tok inexperienced.
I would nit want Sarri or Ancelotti, someone under 55 would be good.
It wasn’t meant so much as a challenge than curiosity 🙂
I’m not sure there’s so much correlation but age is certainly no barrier.
Age isn’t a barrier but I sense that the Nagelsmann types are few and far between. I think that coaching/managing at the highest level for very long can cause burn out
Sue P My take is that it is never cut and dry about younger, middling or older age managers being either better or worse. But I also factor in that many older age managers seem not to change their methods, even when results and patterns of play demand change.
I think that on average, a Prem manager who has already had previous top level experience and who is approx 40- 55 in age is MOST likely to be succesful, even though I dislike using averages and trends as there are always outliers.
BUT it would be foolish to totally disregard the norm, simply because there are exceptions. Whatever gives us the best chance of success, all other things being equal, would be MY choice.
It is surely not only coincidence that the two most outstanding managers in the Prem in this age are Pep and Klopp, both around 50 or just over.
Spot on, Jon.
Hi sue younger then Arteta? He’s only 38 and one of the youngest managers in the premiership.
Hi MF
Well Nagelsmann is very young but Arteta is the perfect age to be starting out. He may not be good enough quite yet but I believe he will be. I didn’t want to start an Arteta in or out situation as I was referring to when the desire or hunger diminishes with age
I think Arteta has the potential to be a good manager, but isnt there yet. The Arsenal job was too big for Emery and is certainly too big for Arteta at the moment. He should have taken some time in a lower division or managed a youth team first.
In Arteta’s favour, (from the Kroenkes point of view,) he is a lot cheaper than alternative managers and should improve over time.
Against that, you have to look at how much the league position and the possible lack of European football will cost Arsenal at a time when finances are already hammered thanks to covid.
As such, I do think the result of the Europa league may have a big impact on whether he keeps his job or not.
One possible option, in Benitez’ recent interview about the Tottenham job he was talking about being the ‘professor’ mentoring young people, or something like that. It crossed my mind that it was an odd choice of words, and could more easily apply to him mentoring a young manager then managing a team.
If Arteta does keep the job I would hope that he will take whatever steps are necessary for him to improve his own performance, an experienced advisor might be one way to go.
Reasons he should be sacked is.
1…never lost as much games at home in years,
2…never lost as much games overall.
3…playing terrible football.
4.. Playing willian for so many games.
5…playing xakai at left back.
6…not playing martinelle more.
7..not having a backup left back,
8..lowest league position since the 80s.
9.. Going to be behind spuds again.
Is that enough……
A rebuild would have been needed regardless of who was in charge. Would we have finished higher with another coach? Possibly. However, it looks like we’ll be keeping our biggest assets while the rebuild continues. The last two windows (given our budget) have been excellent. As long as that continues, the grass on our side is green enough.
I agree, recruitment looks better than it has been and long term it might work out but it surely hasn’t been a great season and pointed out by some we seem more stable but the football quality on he pitch ah as been unpredictable game by game. It could go either way for Arteta and I could see both views. Continue with him and see if the small incremental improvements carry on as Arteta learns or get a more experienced manager in and see if we can hit the ground running next season.
Couldn’t agree more NMC
To use words like “shocking revelation” in the context of a speculative rumour concerning the replacement of the current Arsenal Manager is totally inappropriate.As for the comments of Dan Kit, why are you so hostile and bitter towards a man who took over a poisonous chalice which cannot be remedied in the short time of his stewardship.Even Sir Alex Ferguson who I had the pleasure of meeting during his time with Aberdeen ,could not turn an unbalanced squad of players, many of whom are mediocre, into a successful side within two seasons ,in what is the most competitive League in Europe..To suggest that Arteta should be sacked even if he wins the Europa Cup beggars belief and to my mind casts doubt as to your integrity as an Arsenal supporter.
I’m sorry why don’t you use the reply button like any normal person would do if you have something to say mr high and mighty ,you do t know me personally so don’t ask about my integrity of my Arsenal support .
I remember when you first started posting on here you stuck your beak into an argument and said you would never comment on one of my posts again ,but low and behold here you are !,next time stick to your word buddy because I have absolutely nothing more to say to you after that little dig you had at me .
Spot on again Grandad! Sometimes it’s too easy to forget obvious facts and reality.
@Grandad
The issue is that “fans” like Dan, Ken, and Phil, honestly don’t believe the club was in a really healthy position when Wenger and Emery left, and with some fans, they only give a new manager about 6-9 months or they’re out. With Dan kit, even if Arteta wins the EL and qualifies for the CL, that is still not good enough.
ThirdmanJW…. it’s not good enough, we can’t continue to lose ground on the big teams in the league and bail ourselves out with cup competitions..
We are regressing rapidly, I remember a wigan won a cup and where are they now..
maybe next season we end up 15th and win the champions league and we call that progress
We can’t continue like this, Chelsea is enough evidence of ambition and club that understands how to survive in this modern time…
And for those saying our players are average blah blah… So u mean an aubameyang, partey, Luiz even will I am coming from Chelsea or our talented kids are average deadwood… U guys hats to be kidding me..
Probably Chelsea fans Wud have said same if Lampard had remained,i remember Werner, havertz ,pulisic were once called flops…look at the team now….
A top manager is what we need full stop…no more sugarcoating things… This is arsenal for crying out loud, 10th is an embarrassment
@instrooments
I admit, it’s not good enough at the moment, but even an experienced manager would struggle to make the top 6 with Arsenal this season.
I’m not even saying Arteta is the answer, but I would prefer to give him at least the first 3/4 months of next season to see if there’s an improvement, as I don’t think one main transfer window is anywhere near enough to turn around our dreadful squad.
What’s the alternative, change managers every 1/2 or 2/3’s of a single season if we’re not performing?
Lets give him time to settle and buy his own players I know he will improve our squad come next season
Removing the emotion from the debate, and basing the answer of the statements coming from the “owner” – no Mikel will not be sacked if we fail to land the Europa.
However, we all know football is THE most cut throat environment, but something tells me Krankie will stick to his guns.
If he won EL, this would mean, he has won twice against an arguably in form Utd and won a title, unless Roma do a miracle, he would still have done well overcoming the team who could kick Utd from a tough situation 😅. For me, I would give him next season 10 league games and assess.
Anything less, he should go,
1. terrible PL position, worst since I was born, may be before that date even.
2. it is not an acheivement to overcome Benfica (3rd with large pts difference), Greek and Czech champions with all due respect and 6th in La Liga.
3. No Europe 1st time in 25 years
4. Performance is terrible in a lot of games
And in my opinion, the squad of players could have done better with better management.
And I would take Sarri, to be honest.
I do not understand why is not attractive to some fans, took Napoli forward and took Chelsea forward in one season, and has done what is expected at Juventus (though he has not impressed).
– Knows PL
– he is not young but his success was recent and not as old as Wenger.
Juventus have had a pretty poor season by their standards. Like Arsenal, their CM position has been very inconsistent (Ramsey’s played about 20 minutes between trips to the doc). Anyway, Sarri isn’t the manager there, Pirlo is.
He has a decent record but was also sacked by Chelsea and Juventus after an extended run of poor performances.
Seems like a grass is greener stance to me.
Plus the Emirates dug outs are “no smoking”.
Only God knows how bad I want Arteta out, if losing today’s game will make the board sack him I don’t mind us losing, the man has done enough damage to our Dear Club, buh I’ll prefer a younger Coach not an old stricken Sarri.
I was a big Arteta fan until his team selection of last week. This made me believe the job is too big for him and he doesn’t understand his team.
Would I be 100% surprised if he comes good next season, if he keeps his job? No.
Do I think he is worth the risk? Depends on who would replace him.
Sarri would be a big no-no IMO. Better to keep Arteta.
Ten Hag? Also a risk but perhaps one worth taking.
I keep repeating myself on this subject because there are very few truly great managers out there. Those successful managers are already gainfully employed at successful clubs so unless they want a project for some personal stimulation reasons why leave? Rodgers is the exception insofar as Leicester cannot be classified in the same breath as Arsenal regardless of how well the club are doing currently. He could be tempted but the list isn’t very long.
Any experienced manager should do, with a consistent team selection and tactics, we should be up and running in no time at least top four.. The squad is good enough…
I would say the former Bayern manager,Atalanta or Ajax manager or Luis Enrique should get us rolling..
Or if Arteta has to stay, a club legend should be assistant manager (bergkamp, Viera, mertesacker or Henry) even guardiola needed a brilliant assistant
I am all for giving younger Managers a step up in their careers for a number of them are doing a great job with limited resources.Two examples are Graham Potter of Brighton and Thomas Frank of Brentford.Potter, in particularly has impressed me as having a cool temperament as well as excellent tactical appreciation.The fact that he does not agitate from the touchline appeals to me and he , along with Brendan Rogers would be my choices to replace Arteta if he is shown the door sooner rather than later.If we fail to get through the tie this evening , I expect a deluge of vitriol to hit this site with demands for the immediate sacking of our Manager.Indeed some fans of our Club will carry on their campaign ,by their own admission, even if we win the Europa Trophy and thereby quality for the CL next season.In any event, Managers such as ,Benitez and Ancelloti have had their day, and made their millions despite being found wanting at stages in their careers.As fans we have to accept responsibility for the state of our Clubs as fuelled by the media, we demand the recruitment of expensive highly paid players as a means of guaranteeing instant success. Perhaps we should all temper our expectations, particularly at a time when hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives to the Pandemic.Football at the end of the day is a sport, not a matter of life and death.
Where Arsenal is right now we will only get somebody who has had problems and been released or an up-and-coming manager where Arsenal is a big step up.
I am not a fan of Arteta at all but we need to make sure that there is somebody better before pulling the trigger. A revolving door will only hurt us more.
Sue, I think Rodgers is pretty content at Leicester, I think that we would have to take more of a flyer or get risky with a champions league outcast.
Besides, I really don’t think that KSE is going to make a change win or lose.
And this Stewart is more or less my point. There really isn’t anybody out there who would come to Arsenal under the present situation who I believe can make any more of a difference. I agree that Potter would take the job and he knows the EPL, and as Grandad has said appears to have the right temperament, but could he take the next step any more than Arteta has already?
Think of the current EPL managers who any ambitious Arsenal supporter would want that didn’t have the name Pep, Klopp or Rodgers?
It is a minefield.
I agree SueP – That is why I think Ten Hag might be tempted. The PL is the biggest league in the world, Arsenal is a bigger job than Ajax and he is used to working on a low budget with young players. However needless to say, he would not guarantee success. However, I doubt he would choke with his tactics in big games the way Arteta has done twice in a row against Villareal. In fact, Ten Hag has shown good tactical skills in the CL with Ajax.
If Arteta fails to win the Europa league, the unfortunately it has to be curtains. I am one of the people that believed in the project however, that has changed. He keeps changing lineups and has very unusual substitutions. If he fails to take us to Europe the we need an experienced coach, just look at our neighbors Chelsea, massive difference due to experienced first class gaffer.
Chelsea sacked Lampard look where they are now while we are busy defending Arteta who is doing a drab of a job