Martin Keown believes that Arsenal should be looking at the possibility of appointing Mauricio Pochettino after his exit from Tottenham this week.
Spurs confirmed that they had parted company with the Argentine tactician on Tuesday and less than 24 hours later, they officially announced Jose Mourinho as his successor.
Time will tell whether or not the ‘Special One’ can lead them out of their struggles this season as they currently sit in 14th place in the Premier League table and 11 points adrift of the top four.
However, with Arsenal in sixth spot and trailing Man City by eight points, it appears as though the Gunners aren’t much better off as they continue to come unstuck under Unai Emery as they haven’t looked convincing at all so far this season.
With that in mind, Keown has made the argument that perhaps Arsenal should be looking at Pochettino as a possible replacement for their current boss in what would still undoubtedly be a shock appointment given his ties to their bitter city rivals.
“There’s no need to panic at Arsenal, we are getting close to panic by the way, because we’re not having the best of seasons, but the powers that be at the top of the club should be seriously considering Pochettino,” he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
“I know the poor record he has recently, I know it all but I still would have given him another chance. I don’t like the way Tottenham have done it.
“There will be a lot of chairmen looking at him now. Manchester United wanted him this time last year. I think Arsenal would have to be interested if they want to take a step forward.”
As noted by the Evening Standard though, Pochettino previously stated in 2017 that he would never take the Arsenal job given his ties to Tottenham as he valued loyalty above all else.
However, now being out of a job and looking for the best next move for his own career, perhaps his ideologies and perspective will change as ultimately he may not want to be out of work for long and if he has the opportunity to stay settled in north London, it could be a chance he wants to take.
Keown arguably contradicts himself slightly above by suggesting Arsenal don’t need to panic but ultimately should make a managerial change. If results don’t improve and there isn’t more consistency, perhaps that change will be forthcoming from the Gunners hierarchy.
