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It was recently announced that Unai Emery would replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, signaling the end of the Frenchman's 22-year stint at the club. The news was met with joy from both Arsenal and opposition camps. Arsenal fans were glad that it was Emery and not Arteta joining them while fans of the other clubs were thrilled with the fact that it was indeed Emery and not Allegri or Ancelotti as was being tipped a while ago.
While Emery has tasted success in his previous clubs - he won 3 consecutive Europa League titles with Sevilla and Ligue 1 with PSG (who can't win Ligue 1 with PSG?) - is he the right fit for Arsenal?
I, for one, do not think so and hence have compiled this list of five managers Arsenal could have targetted instead of the Spaniard.
#5 Maurizio Sarri
It is being reported that Sarri is close to taking over the reins at Chelsea. But would he have been tempted to a move to Arsenal if they were indeed interested in the Italian and with his CV why wouldn't they have been? They could have also planned a coup of sorts to whisk him away from right under Chelsea's nose.
Sarri won Serie A's Coach of the Year award in the 2016/17 season after helping Napoli finish third in the league. He employs an extremely attacking brand of football, one that Arsenal fans would love to see with their side as well.
However, he has also been involved in a fair share of controversy during his managerial career, not something that the Arsenal board would be too pleased with.
Nevertheless, Sarri would have been a significant upgrade to Emery.
#4 Leonardo Jardim
Leonardo Jardim has overseen a revolution of sorts at Monaco. In the past couple of seasons, some of the brightest talents in world football have plied their trade under him, including Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar.
Under Jardim's watchful eye, Monaco made the semi-finals of the 2016/17 Champions League and went on to win Ligue 1, pipping PSG to the title.
One positive and negative about Jardim to Arsenal: on the bright side, he is used to working at a 'feeder' club, scouting talent and developing them before selling them off and investing in youth again. While Arsenal have tried to get rid of that tag in recent years, they are still a club in that mould, much like Monaco themselves.
Coming to the con, Jardim is not really the most compelling of personalities and might have found it hard to handle the egos of top stars at the Emirates.
#3 Julian Nagelsmann
After 22 years of Arsene Wenger, opting for youth may have been the right way to go for Arsenal.
Nagelsmann, only 30, has created a fantastic project at Hoffenheim in the past couple of seasons, helping them finish fourth in the 2016/17 season while playing some scintillating football and going one better in 2017/18, leading them to the third spot, ahead of the likes of Dortmund, Leverkusen and Leipzig - no mean feat.
One issue Nagelsmann may have had if he had indeed come to Arsenal would have been the age factor. At 30, he is younger than the likes of Cech and Koscielny and how they respond to orders from someone a few years younger than themselves would have been interesting to see.
At Hoffenheim, Nagelsmann has had to work with limited resources and one can only imagine the heights he could reach if given adequate funding and a decent squad (at least on paper).
#2 Massimiliano Allegri
A firm favourite to land the Arsenal job at one point in time, Allegri sealed yet another Serie A title with Juventus - his fourth successive triumph. He has also led Juve to 2 Champions League finals and made them one of the most formidable sides in Europe today.
Allegri is flexible tactically - he often switches between back 3s and 4s, something Wenger was so firmly against until his final season - and his Juventus side play an exciting brand of possession-based football as well, something that would have gone down well with the Arsenal fans.
While he might not have been thrilled with the prospect of basically building the club up again, it would have presented him a challenge, not something he often got in the Juventus hot-seat.
Allegri's win% at Juventus is close to 72% which is quite astonishing.
#1 Carlo Ancelotti
Ancelotti is a proven winner and he would, without a doubt have, pardon the Trump quote, "made Arsenal great again". Ancelotti has had extremely successful stints at the greatest of clubs, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea etc.
The Italian has a ruthless winning mentality about him and would have surely been able to instil that into his troops, something they have lacked oh so much in Wenger's final years.
Ancelotti has a win % of 58.93, which is on the higher side. His man-management skills and tactical expertise are exactly what an Arsenal side lacking any clear direction need. However, with Ancelotti being somewhat of a Champions League specialist, it would have been some task for the Gunners, who will be a part of the Europa League next season as well, to lure him to the Emirates.
According to reports, Ancelotti has taken charge at Napoli, meaning Arsenal missed a trick for sure.
