Nwankwo Kanu has claimed some of his former Arsenal teammates would be good managerial candidates instead of Mikel Arteta.
The Spaniard was hired by the club back in December and has overseen a victory in the FA Cup and the club’s current run to the Europa Leage semi-final.
Speaking in an interview at a Ladbrokes event (as per The Mirror), the Nigerian agreed with former captain William Gallas in that Patrick Vieira would be an astute appointment and even added in Thierry Henry’s name into the mix.
Kanu said: “I agree with William Gallas that Patrick Vieira would be a good fit as Arsenal’s manager because he’s Arsenal through and through. I think the same thing about Thierry Henry. If you asked me, I’d say go and get both of them. They’re Arsenal blood and their presence would make Arsenal a better team.”
Should Arsenal sack Arteta?
Yes
No
You hear it all the time, ‘he has their blood running through his veins’.
A former player may well bleed the colour of the team he once turned out for, but, quality is necessary especially in the brutal world of management.
And to add fuel to the fire, the likes of Henry and Vieira have endured tough starts to their managerial careers. Whilst the club’s record goalscorer has struggled with AS Monaco and partly with Impact Montreal, Vieira was sacked by Nice midway through this season.
The commitment and ability needed to take the likes of Arsenal back to the top of English football stem deeper than just being a former player for the Gunners.
You need the tactical nous in big games, for example. You need to be able to motivate your players during times of difficulty and most importantly, you need to be able to shoulder the blame should the team fail to carry out their targets.
In Henry’s case, he has shown his lack of man-management skills with reports claiming he would use blunt sarcasm during moments in training with his players.
Meanwhile, Vieira struggled to recover from the summer of 2019, where Nice sold a raft of talent and failed to replace them adequately. As a manager, you may not always get the right hand dealt to you, but, you need to make it work.
In Arteta’s case, he has managed to win an FA Cup and reach the semi-finals of the Europa League with a side that requires massive overhauling, a sign of his outstanding managerial ability.
Former players won’t always make the best managers, and could sometimes be worse options than many outside candidates. Arteta has done a wonderful job thus far and any suggestion he should be replaced by Henry or Vieira is foolish.
In other news, £8m ace’s impact has been greater than expected following his 2019 arrival.
