Why Massimiliano Allegri would be the right fit for Arsenal 

Unai Emery was inevitably relieved of command at Arsenal on Friday this week, because, since that fateful 'playing out of the back' giveaway to Watford, it has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The Spaniard simply couldn't halt the downward spiral.

Former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has been named the club's caretaker manager, and if Arsenal cannot find a good replacement quickly, the Swede may be around for quite a while.

He may produce the 'Ole Gunnar Solskjaer effect' in the next few weeks, however, since the Swede took over as defensive coach in June from Steve Bould (whose disastrous zonal marking I had raged against for aeons), Arsenal have conceded goals at an even greater rate.

If the North London club wants to keep their managerial powder dry till next season, Guus Hiddink may be the perfect candidate, because has had two successful interim coach stints at neighbouring Chelsea, proving he understands the EPL and can step into the breach and turn things around promptly. However, his longer stints haven't gone quite so well. As the saying goes, 'horses for courses'.

Who's next?

After the last international break, it was evident that the wrong manager in North London got sacked. Tottenham Hotspur was struggling a bit, but they were only a scant 3 points behind then 6th placed Arsenal.

Despite all the recent success which Mauricio Pochettino brought to Spurs, Daniel Levy always had the look of someone waiting to push a button to make bad things happen. Of course, in pulling the trigger first, Spurs grabbed one of the leading candidates to replace Emery – Jose Mourinho.

Unai Emery

When Arsene Wenger announced his departure, I had listed my picks to succeed him. However, my favourite didn't make the list. Wenger should have taken a bow when Jurgen Klopp became available after leaving Dortmund, as it would have been the perfect handover. However, the first choice on my list was Diego Simeone.

Bringing Atletico Madrid into full contention against wealthy giants Real Madrid and Barcelona is exactly the kind of qualification needed to put Arsenal back in the title chase. However, it's safe to file that choice under the pipe dream category.

Before Spurs signed Mourinho, he was my second choice to replace Emery. The Portuguese manager is typically a three-year proposition. During the first year, he's always been extremely adept at identifying weaknesses in the team and tweaking tactics to plug those weaknesses. The second-year is when he signs players in the summer transfer window to bring the club into title contention.

However, Mourinho’s management style tends to rub players the wrong way. Not only does he demand the proverbial 110 per cent from his players, he typically criticises and challenges them publicly.

This inevitably leads to disenchantment and disintegration in the third year, with Mourinho being sacked somewhere along the line. Arsenal badly needs a manager who'll throw teacups and hold players accountable – Wenger and Emery have been too soft.

Ironically, Mourinho taking over at Spurs gives me my current second choice to replace Emery – Mauricio Pochettino. One thing which has been frequently mentioned after Pochettino’s dismissal is that he demanded 110 per cent from all his players. That's not bad quality.

The big question mark about his reign at Spurs were his results in the last few games, especially away from home. However, unlike Arsenal away, Spurs created many goal-scoring opportunities, just like they do at home.

They just weren’t putting away their chances. Despite my reservations about Pochettino, he has shown he can do well with little and restricted budgets, thanks to his spells at Southampton and Spurs.

Through some twisted quirk of fate, my first choice to replace Emery is miraculously available. His name was right behind Simeone on my Wenger replacement list – Massimiliano Allegri. The rumour mill has him as the frontrunner for the job.

Maybe the dubiously named Arsenal Brain Trust will get it right this time. Although Allegri doesn’t seem like the teacup tossing type, he will bring the most important quality Arsenal has needed for over a decade - a solid defensive foundation.

He proved at Juventus that he can be defensive and still play attractive football. Furthermore, unlike Emery, he is not hell-bent on playing a particular style. This was evidenced by how easily Juventus switched their attack from a 'democratic frontline' to one built around Cristiano Ronaldo.

As the North London club embarks on its interim march under the guidance of Ljungberg, the Arsenal faithful wait in bated breath, hoping the men in charge don't miss a trick once again in the hunt for a new manager.