Charlie Nicholas has claimed that former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino could be the man to succeed Unai Emery at the Emirates if Arsenal decide to sack the Frenchman.
Emery has found himself under immense pressure to turn around Arsenal’s fortunes with the North London club slipping to eighth in the Premier League table at the weekend after salvaging a point against relegation-threatened Southampton.
Arsenal’s local rivals Tottenham changed manager over the international break with Pochettino being replaced in the dugout by Jose Mourinho and now that the Argentine is available, Nicholas has tipped him to be a candidate to succeed Emery.
“Of course,” Nicholas told Sky Sports when asked if Pochettino could head to Arsenal. “He is a top-quality coach. We did it with Sol Campbell in the past and we know what mayhem that created. This would be even more. He improved Spurs dramatically and got them to the top four and the Champions League final.
“The question mark beside him is that he didn’t win any prizes. They didn’t always get results against the rest of the top six so that’s a question mark too.
“Would he improve this Arsenal side? I am not so sure. I think it needs a rebuild defensively right from the centre backs.”
What do we think?
Pochettino built a lasting legacy at Tottenham and no matter what you think of Spurs, it was a huge shock when Daniel Levy decided to sack the man who earlier this year had taken his side to the Champions League final.
Arsenal fans would do anything for even a hint of that success at the moment.
While it is well-documented that Pochettino never won any silverware in his time in charge of Tottenham, the accolades that managers have won in previous jobs do not count that much once they eventually move on.
Emery has won three Europa League titles with Sevilla and one Ligue title with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as several other cup competitions in the French capital.
He’s won more silverware than Pochettino but who, out of those two managers, would you put more faith in getting close to silverware at the Emirates right now?
It would probably be the unemployed Argentine.
