Unai Emery has ended his watch at the Emirates and the search is on for the next Arsenal head coach. There is no shortage of names mentioned so far but one candidate appeared to be getting much of the attention. The spotlight is trained on Mauricio Pochettino, who last managed Tottenham.
It seemed unlikely that the Argentine will get the Arsenal top job, given that he used to lead the Spurs, which is the same club that is the Gunners' rival in North London. But the Pochettino name has been floating around for some time, and even so when Tottenham suddenly gave him the boot just a few days back.
Goal listed Pochettino with the names that Arsenal will pick from to pick up where Emery had left off. His five years with the Spurs have been described by the report as inspiring, at least in the sense that Tottenham has made a battle cry of always exceeding what the Gunners have achieved.
However, Goal has warned that tapping Pochettino for the job vacancy could prove polarizing. That's because he once bannered the Spurs colors, something that might not be acceptable to many hardcore Arsenal fans.
Pochettino himself seemed at loss on the possibility of him taking charge of Arsenal. As Metro noted in a report, the Argentine infamously declared last year that when offered to lead the Gunners he will most likely decline.
He added it's best for him to take farming in Argentina than switch a new side in North London.
Yet as fate would have it, Tottenham sacked Pochettino and the manner it played out might just give him the reason to reconsider and seriously think hard.
Metro added on its report that the Argentine and his staff are still in London. It seemed there was no sign that Pochettino and company will pack up and fly out soon, which should be a hint that he is ready to take up a tempting job offer.
It's no secret that the Arsenal board has been discussing the likelihood of Pochettino getting on board as soon as the speculations of Emery's exit started heating up. While the Gunners now count on Freddie Ljungberg as interim head coach, the club has made it clear that a permanent manager will still come in.
Pochettino, no doubt, is in serious consideration alongside Brendan Rodgers, Mikel Arteta, Nuno Espirito Santos, and of course Ljungberg. It used to be that Jose Mourinho was the top choice but the Portuguese now holds the job previously occupied by the Argentine.
So at the moment, Pochettino is viewed as "a credible option," according to the Daily Star, which added that the manager was impressive on how he handled the Spurs in the last five years. The club during the period made it to top four of the Premier League and figured in the finals of the Champions League.
