Arsenal are looking for a successor to Arsene Wenger this summer, and reports in Spain suggest that they are edging closer to securing an appointment. As noted by BBC Sport, the Gunners have had since last month to begin their managerial search after Wenger confirmed his intention to step down from his position at the end of the season. With the campaign now concluded, the north London giants will want to push ahead with their appointment to give the new manager as much of the summer as possible to settle into his position and build a squad capable of competing for major honours next season and onwards.
According to Sport, it’s becoming increasingly likely that former midfielder and captain Mikel Arteta is going to be the man tasked with that job, as he is said to have held a meeting with key Man City officials and Pep Guardiola after Arsenal expressed an interest. It’s suggested that the Premier League champions have given him the green light to take on the Arsenal job, and so it remains to be seen now whether things progress quickly and an official announcement is made on who will be Wenger’s successor.
If it is to be Arteta, it’s surely a massive risk from the Gunners. Although he has gained crucial experience working closely with Guardiola, the Spaniard has yet to test himself in a top job and with Arsenal currently on the slide and missing out on the top four again this past season, it’s a risky strategy to go with an untested manager.Nevertheless, perhaps Arteta fits the mould of what they’re looking for moving forward, and in truth, it would be a tough challenge for any manager to step in after 22 years of Wenger at Arsenal as there will undoubtedly be a difficult transitional period to follow as the new boss implements his own ideas.