Premier League 2019-20: 3 reasons why Carlo Ancelotti is the right man for Arsenal

In a somewhat surprising piece of news that emerged last night, less than three hours after defeating Genk in a Champions League game, it was announced that Napoli had parted ways with their manager Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian club had been struggling somewhat prior to last night’s win, with no wins in nine games, but despite currently sitting in 7th position in Serie A, they remain the only side to beat Liverpool in 90 minutes in 2019-20.

While Ancelotti will no doubt be disappointed with his firing, the news could be good for any clubs on the hunt for a new manager right now, and one team that could certainly do with a new boss like the Italian are Arsenal, who parted ways with Unai Emery two weeks ago.

Here are 3 reasons why Carlo Ancelotti would be a good choice for the vacant managerial spot at Arsenal.

#1 He’s got Premier League experience – and is a proven winner

Ancelotti famously won a Premier League and FA Cup double with Chelsea

When Tottenham fired Mauricio Pochettino and replaced him with Jose Mourinho a few weeks ago, much was made about the fact that Mourinho was seen as a “serial winner” who had always delivered trophies to any side he’d managed at. Well, while he’s not as renowned as the Portuguese, Carlo Ancelotti has – with the exception of his latest job at Napoli – always delivered trophies to whichever sides he’s been in charge of.

At Milan he won the Scudetto and two Champions League titles, at Paris St. Germain he delivered a Ligue 1 title, at Real Madrid he picked up another Champions League title, and at Bayern Munich, he won the Bundesliga title. Could he have won more given the teams he’s managed? Sure, but the same could be said for any boss.

Most importantly though, while he was boss at Chelsea, Ancelotti won a Premier League and FA Cup double in his first season at the club, and in his second season – 2010-11 – he was controversially fired despite finishing second in the league to a tremendous Manchester United team. At the time, Ancelotti’s win percentage at Chelsea was the third-highest in Premier League history – behind only Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson.

All of that suggests that unlike Unai Emery – who only ever won a league title with ultra-rich PSG – Ancelotti is the kind of manager who could deliver league success back to Arsenal. He’s got the trophies on his record, and he’s got Premier League experience that largely ended in success – what more could the Gunners want?

#2 He’s proven himself to be a flexible tactician

Unai Emery never seemed sure of what system to use at Arsenal

One issue that Unai Emery had during his tenure at the Emirates was that he never seemed to be able to work out quite what the best way to get the most out of his squad was. The Spaniard tried various formations and systems during his time at the club, but could never stick to one or even two – and that led to a squad that felt confused at times, with players not sure as to exactly what they were meant to be doing on the pitch.

To defend Emery somewhat, though, Arsenal’s current squad is an interesting one in that there are so many options – albeit not always great ones – in all areas. Essentially, it’d be hard for any manager to find a way to fit all of the Gunners’ best players into one team and make them tick.

If any boss could do it though, it could be Ancelotti. The Italian has become renowned throughout his managerial career for being tactically flexible in order to get the best out of his squad, and has used numerous systems and formations during that time. His Milan side, for instance, played in multiple formations, he switched Real Madrid’s 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2 and finally a 4-3-3, and at Bayern Munich was praised by his players for the freedom he granted them on the pitch.

Arsenal clearly have some tremendously talented players, from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to Mesut Ozil and Nicolas Pepe, and success for them could be purely about finding a manager who can make the most of their skills.

Based on his previous work and the fact that he’s also managed large, talent-filled squads in the past, Ancelotti could well be able to find a way to have Arsenal’s best players working together in a system on the pitch that would make the most of their talents – and that’d be a tremendous thing for the Gunners.

#3 He could help to remove the black clouds surrounding the club

Could Ancelotti be the man to remove the black clouds hanging over Arsenal?

While a feeling of positivity across a club – from the players and the board to the fans – can’t guarantee good results will happen, it’s practically a given that a bad atmosphere is likely to lead to poor results on the pitch. Unfortunately for fans of Arsenal, the black clouds hanging over the Emirates have been all too easy to spot this season.

The fans started the campaign distrusting of boss Unai Emery after he failed to really make an improvement on Arsene Wenger’s work in 2018-19, the Spaniard never seemed to know what his best side was – and didn’t seem fully trusting of big signings like Dani Ceballos and Nicolas Pepe – and that’s without even mentioning the unsavoury incident that saw Granit Xhaka stripped of the club’s captaincy following his angry reaction towards a section of Gunners’ fans that were booing him.

Emery has since been fired, but the bad feeling remains at Arsenal, especially as the man pegged as Xhaka’s replacement as captain – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – has been linked with a move away from the Emirates on numerous occasions and has also been controversially linked to a militant group of Gunners’ fans known as AFTV.

If anyone can bring a positive feeling back to Arsenal though, it’s Carlo Ancelotti. More than anything else, the Italian is known as one of football’s nice guys – the majority of players who have played under him have waxed lyrical about his man-management skills, with Cristiano Ronaldo famously describing him as being like “a big teddy bear”.

When you consider that the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss has also managed players with renowned egos like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arjen Robben – and even caused chaos at Napoli by standing by his squad when they refused to attend a “training retreat” after their recent slide in form – it seems a no-brainer that he’d be able to solve the problems at Arsenal, which seem minuscule in comparison.