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Former footballer Stan Collymore has urged Arsenal to replace Mikel Arteta with Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers. The Foxes have been flying this season and are currently 3rd in the Premier League even after a 3-1 defeat to the Gunners.
Collymore thinks Rodgers would be a more suitable manager for Arsenal and would be able to get the best out of their players. He believes Rodgers's managerial experience should be reason enough for Arsenal to give him the job.
Rodgers has managed two other clubs that can be compared to the stature of Arsenal in Liverpool and Celtic. He won the Scottish Premier League twice during his time at Celtic Park.
Collymore told The Sun:
"His background as a development coach would turbo-boost the progress of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka. And, having managed Liverpool and Celtic, he knows exactly what it takes to be at big clubs and how to deal with the unique pressures they present."
"The Northern Irishman knows what it takes to win trophies, even if it was in Scotland, so there isn’t that monkey on his back. And it’s not like he was far from winning the Premier League with Liverpool, either. He has a definable style which always works with good players and has never been one to go out and spend £50million, £60m or £70m on a player. Leicester have worked to a budget that is at a similar level to the one Arsenal operate on and I’m struggling to find a box he doesn’t tick," he added.
Rodgers helped Liverpool finish 2nd in the Premier League in the 2013-14 season, which was seen as one of Liverpool's best campaigns over the last decade.
Collymore unimpressed by Arsenal's recruitment of Mikel Arteta
Stan Collymore was also highly critical of Arsenal's recruitment of Mikel Arteta. He believes the Gunners only hired the Spaniard due to his past connections with the club and him being an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola.
Collymore said:
"Arteta, on the other hand, arrived with no track record of working with youngsters or a definable style. He got the job because he’d played for the club and because he had worked with Pep Guardiola. The problem with Arsenal is that so many people think it will just take one magic bullet, maybe two, to turn them into title contenders again, that a couple of signings could do that. But they are so far off that mark it is frightening and now it’s about making sure clubs such as Leicester, West Ham and Everton don’t overtake them."
