Next Arsenal Manager Odds: After Mikel Arteta
Most Arsenal fans are still firmly in the “Arteta In” camp but that is not a view shared by neutrals and pundits with many questioning the lack of trophies the Spaniard has delivered.
As much as Arsenal have evolved under Mikel Arteta, at some point, the Gunners’ hierarchy will expect their side to take the final step. If that doesn’t happen soon then they may well be forced to wield the axe.
If that happens, who will the next Arsenal manager be?
Next Arsenal Manager Candidates
While the next Arsenal manager betting odds are not yet available, here are some of the names that could be in the frame should the Gunners give Arteta the chop.
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Xavi
If the Arsenal manager’s job became available now it’s very likely that Spain legend Xavi would feature fairly high up the betting odds.
The former Barcelona midfielder has been out of work since leaving the Catalan club in May 2024 and can point to a tidy 64% win percentage during his time as a coach. He can also boast silverware from both the managerial jobs he’s held too having won La Liga and the Super Cup in Spain along with several honours at Qatari club Al Sadd.
Xavi would be open to an approach from the Gunners too. He has previously name-checked them as a club he would be open to managing whilst also citing his desire to dip his toes into the Premier League waters. The 45-year-old would certainly tick boxes with fans, particularly where style of play and his wider footballing philosophy is concerned.
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Andoni Iraola
If Arsenal want to break a 30-year streak of not appointing a manager with experience of the league they are competing in then Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is surely the most likely candidate to receive a call.
Iraola’s appointment at the Vitality Stadium raised a few eyebrows back in July 2023 but it now looks an inspired appointment with the Cherries well-positioned to compete for European football of some form next season.
It’s not just results that impress where the former Vallecano coach is concerned though; he has brought a really aggressive, good footballing style of play as well, which feels like it’s something that would yield better results the higher up the pyramid he moves.
Bournemouth would be gutted to lose Iraola but the question isn’t “if”, it is “when” and “to who”. Could it be Arsenal?
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Diego Simeone
There is nothing about Diego Simeone that says he is an Arsenal type of manager; whatever that means. It’s not as outlandish as it would have been a few years ago though.
For starters, there is no knocking the job Simone has done at Atletico Madrid where he’s had them punching well above their weight to compete with the big two of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Secondly, Arsenal isn’t the smooth, easy on the eye football team they were under Arsene Wenger with a lot of their success built on a strong backline and set pieces more recently.
The “dark arts” and “win at any cost” mentality that Simeone has burning inside him is probably the biggest blackmark against his name, and getting him away from Atleti might be tough, but Andrea Berta, a former Atletico Director, is due to become Sporting Director at the Emirates and is a big admirer of the Argentine.
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Simone Inzaghi
From a statistical standpoint you can make a really strong case for Simone Inzaghi taking over pretty much any club job in Europe. His track record of achieving results, both week to week and in terms of lifting trophies is seriously impressive as he averages a trophy every 50 games across his coaching career to date.
It’s that sort of record that has seen him linked by many as a contender for the Arsenal job should it become available but, in truth, we don’t see him as a top runner for any vacancy that opens at the Emirates.
The reason? Mainly because his preferred formation wouldn’t necessarily fit the personnel at Arsenal and, secondly, because we can’t see Arsenal getting him out of Inter Milan anytime soon.
