5 possible replacements for Arsene Wenger

Steve Bould

Is Arsene Wenger’s time up?Arsene Wenger has been a loyal servant to Arsenal football club for the last 20 years. His time with the club has seen several highs as well as lows. The Frenchman is still the most successful manager ever at the club.But this season, Arsenal fans have become disgruntled at the team's performances. A season which looked like their best ever chance to win the Premier League has seen Leicester City come out as the surprise favorites after recent results. The Foxes currently lie eight points ahead of the Gunners with only 9 games to play.Maybe the 66-year-old has lost his golden touch and it might be time for him to step down in favour of a new face at the club. With that in mind here are five possible candidates who could replace him:

#5 Steve Bould

Steve Bould

Steve Bould has been Arsenal's right-hand man for the past few seasons. Bould enjoyed success as a player as well for Arsenal and knows what it takes to win trophies. He was also a very good defender in his prime.

Bould knows the club and the players inside out and after working with Wenger and understands the Frenchman’s philosophy and brand of football. So it won’t be hard for him to incorporate the same if he takes over.

An aspect of Arsenal’s game that has been less than impressive over the last few seasons is their defence.On several occasions, we have seen Wenger’s side dominate possession and chances but yet coming out second best because of the defence letting them down.

It seems to a be a familiar tale this season as well with recent games against Swansea and Tottenham showing the defensive frailties of the team. Bould having played as a defender will know hot to plug that gap as well and might bring a much-needed solidarity to that back line.

The 53-year old has also had experience in coaching the youth team and it might be the right time for him to make the step up into senior management

#4 Frank De Boer

Frank De Boer

Frank De Boer is a very well-known name in world football. The Dutchman had a fine career playing for the likes of Ajax and Barcelona during his 18-year career. De Boer took up management after hanging up his boots taking over the reigns at his boyhood club Ajax in 2010.

He was also part of the youth setup at the Dutch giants as well as having a 3-year stint as assistant manager for the National team. De Boer implements an attacking brand of football at Ajax.

Another manager who was influenced by Johan Cruyff, he prefers a team that keeps possession of the ball and at the same time presses with high intensity when they lose it to the opposition. De Boer is also familiar with Van Gaal's policy of including as many players as possible when attacking.

De Boer's right-hand man is Dennis Bergkamp. The Dutchman is a legend at Arsenal where he spent 11 trophy-laden years of his career. Bergkamp was also touted as one of Wenger's replacements in the future but due to his fear of flying he might not consider a full-time job as of yet.

But if De Boer makes the move to London he might convince his partner in crime to join him there. Bergkamp definitely knows what it takes to be successful at Arsenal and what it means to represent the club. So the duo taking their managerial trade to Arsenal might just be what the club needs.

#3 Ronald Koeman

Ronald Koeman

Ronald Koeman has done a wonderful job at Southampton after he took over when many expected the club to get relegated after their star players were sold in the summer of 2014.

The likes of Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert moved to Liverpool while Luke Shaw and Calum Chamber headed to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. Their manager Mauricio Pochetino also left to become the head coach of Tottenham Hotspur. Everyone expected the Saints to struggle after their core had left them.

But after Koeman came in he used the funds wisely to bring in the likes of Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane to rebuild the team. The results were unexpected and highly impressive.

Southampton achieved a points total of 60 in the 2014/15 season four more than what they had managed last year. The manager had previously coached clubs that had sold their biggest stars to other clubs such as Ajax and PSV and knew how to replace them shrewdly.

Koeman has stated he likes to play possession football and build from the back. He is influenced by Johan Cruyff’s philosophy after playing under him in the famous Barcelona team of the 90s. But Southampton have also developed a pressing style of play that have troubled the big teams in the Premier League.

With Arsene Wenger a fan of possession football Koeman won’t find it difficult to employ his philosophy at the club.

#2 Jorge Sampaoli

Jorge Sampaoli

The Chilean national team has seen an amazing transformation over the last four years. The country have achieved enormous success and a lot of it has to do with how well coach Jorge Sampaoli has managed his team.

Chile have several good players with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Claudio Bravo, Eduardo Vargas and Arturo Vidal the most notable in that team. 2015 was probably one of the best years in Chilean football with the team famously beating Argentina in the final to win the Copa America and did well in the World Cup qualifiers.

Sampaoli bases his coaching philosophy on Marcelo Bielsa.The Argentine has employed a high pressing game which is a trademark of Bielsa’s methods and the tactic has proven to be very effective. Hard working runners like Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal have adapted really well to the system.

With Sanchez already at Arsenal, Sampaoli will find a friendly face at the club and a person he can use help relay his methodologies to other players. The pressing game will also suit Arsenal’s attacking play something Wenger has often employed to win the ball back quickly. So players will find it easy to adapt to his style of play.

#1 Joachim Loew

Joachim Loew

Joachim Loew has been a great manager for Germany over the last decade. The German took over from Jurgen Klinsmann after serving as his assistant from 2004 to 2006. The manager learnt his trade from the former Tottenham striker when Germany had a successful World Cup in 2006 reaching the semi-finals of the competition.

Klinsmann developed a new philosophy of giving young players a chance who had performed well in their respective domestic leagues over the choice of experienced players and it paid off in the World Cup.

Loew took over from his predecessor’s philosophy but kept his same principles. In 2008, Germany reached the final of Euro 2008 but lost to Spain in the finals.

His team did perform admirably in the 2010 World Cup but again lost to Spain this time in the semi-finals of the competition but the coach finally achieved success in 2014 when his team lifted the World Cup after beating Argentina in extra time.

Loew would be a perfect replacement for Arsene Wenger who also believes in bringing in young players and promoting them to the first team. Under the manager, Germany have played attractive and efficient football. His style focuses on both possession as well as fast counter-attacking football something Arsenal have come to be known for.

Loew will also have familiar faces in Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker at Arsenal who were part of the 2014 World Cup winning squad.

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Edited by Staff Editor