Arsenal have reportedly set a deadline of five games for Mikel Arteta to save his job, and have also identified former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte as a potential replacement.
Arteta is under growing pressure at the Emirates Stadium after an awful start to the season, and the Telegraph report that Conte would be the most likely name targeted to take his place if the Spanish tactician cannot turn things around soon.
Arsenal fans will no doubt be disappointed that their former player hasn’t been able to make the step up into management, but it’s hard to imagine they’ll keep patience with Arteta for much longer after such poor performances and results.
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Conte would also represent a very tempting upgrade for the Gunners, with the Italian tactician winning major honours everywhere he’s been.
The 52-year-old led Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first season at Stamford Bridge back in 2016/17, and followed that up with an FA Cup final victory the following year.
Given that Arsenal have spent so much in recent transfer windows, bringing in big names like Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey, it’s hard to imagine a top coach like Conte wouldn’t get more out of this squad than Arteta has been able to.
Conte has also won Serie A with both Juventus and Inter Milan, and it would be intriguing to see this proven winner back in English football again.
A more competitive Arsenal side would surely make the race for the top four a bit more interesting than it is at the moment, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool looking some way ahead of the rest.