According to multiple reports, Jose Mourinho is “very interested” in becoming Arsenal’s next manager if Unai Emery is fired.
Digest that. Let it swirl around in your stomachs.
Mourinho managing Arsenal. Somewhere in France, Arsene Wenger has just spat out his coq au vin.
This has the whiff of Mourinho and or his agent ‘briefing’ certain outlets that he’d love to coach the Gunners, as a few weeks ago there was talk about him being interested in the Tottenham Hotspur job with Mauricio Pochettino under pressure.
It is clear Mourinho has itchy feet and even though he’s a regular at Premier League games in his role with Sky Sports as a pundit.
Mourinho, 56, has been out of work for almost a year after he was fired by Manchester United and the way they’ve struggled in his absence suggests that a lot of his failings at the Red Devils may not have been all his fault.
The Emery experiment at Arsenal hasn’t really worked and coming up to 18 months in charge of the Gunners, there’s been no real progress when it comes to pushing the north London club on from Wenger’s reign.
Given the history between Mourinho and Wenger, and the Portuguese coach often having less than subtle digs about Arsenal’s lack of success in terms of winning trophies, could this ever happen?
In brief stints together in a pundit role, Wenger and Mourinho have gotten along. In a weird way, would Mourinho coming in and ripping everything up at Arsenal give everyone a massive kick up the backside?
Hiring Mourinho would scream short-term from Arsenal’s owner, Stan Kroenke. But with the Gunners for silverware and to get back into the top four, desperate times call for desperate measures.
But this would be other level desperation for Arsenal.
We know that Mourinho has enjoyed incredible success and won trophies wherever he’s gone, but his model works for two or three years before it all comes crashing down.
Unless he’s learned some huge lessons over the past 11 months while he’s been out of working, his methods are outdated and he can no longer rule with an iron fist as he used to.
Would Mourinho win a trophy at Arsenal? Sure. The League Cup, FA Cup or Europa League is probably likely and his name still attracts plenty of top players from around the globe, so he could reshape this Gunners side which is in dire need of a stronger defensive backbone.
Mourinho would improve Arsenal defensively and they have plenty of attacking flair, so there’s not a lot to improve in that department.
