Why Gunners should think twice before appointing Spaniard.
A recent report from the London Evening Standard suggests that Arsenal could have a deal in place to appoint Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola as their next manager in 2016.
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On the face of it, this could be huge for the Gunners as they look to replace the long-serving and influential Arsene Wenger, though here are five reasons Arsenal fans should also approach this news with caution…
1) No guarantee of long-term commitment
Whilst at Barcelona, Guardiola was known for only ever signing one-year contract extensions as he refused to commit his future to the Catalan giants. In the end, the Spaniard only stayed with the club for four years after struggling to cope with the stress of the job, leaving at a time when the team looked like heading into decline. Although his great work cannot be underplayed, it would be quite a change for Arsenal if they had a manager who was not 100% committed in the way that Wenger has been for nearly 20 years in charge of the club.
2) Prone to expensive failures in the transfer market
Although Guardiola has rightly earned praise for bringing through some superb youngsters into his Barcelona team, he has also made some big blunders in the transfer market. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was an extremely expensive mistake during his reign at the Nou Camp, while Cesc Fabregas was another ill-thought out purchase as he struggled to find places for these players in his system. At Arsenal he simply won’t be able to afford to throw money away like that and may get found out.
3) Possibly too similar to Wenger
If Arsenal are often too one-dimensional, then Guardiola is arguably not the man to take them forward. Both Barcelona and Bayern have been caught out for trying to walk the ball into the net and refusing to change their playing style when it has clearly not worked. Chelsea did a superb job of shutting them out in the 2012 Champions League semi-final, and many Premier League teams will already be well-placed to frustrate Guardiola’s side if he gets Arsenal playing the same way.
4) Questionable tactical changes
Whilst being rigid in his possession-based playing style, Guardiola has been a little more experimental in the shape of his team or the positions of his players, though usually not to great effect. The 43-year-old experimented with a 3-4-3 formation at Barca and it went badly wrong, as did using Fabregas as a false 9, whilst his use of Philipp Lahm as a defensive midfielder when he is arguably the best right-back in the world is also fairly questionable.
5) Not used to inheriting a struggling side
Perhaps most importantly, Guardiola is not used to taking control of a side that doesn’t already have the core ingredients to be successful. Although some rebuilding was needed at Barcelona, it could be argued that a lot of managers would have done well with a team containing the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta at their peak. At Bayern as well, Guardiola inherited a side that won the treble and could not repeat that success himself in his first season at the club. Much more work would be needed at Arsenal, who have not looked close to winning the Premier League or the Champions League in a long time.