SO if Arsenal’s board do as they should, and issue a lucrative offer to make Mauricio Pochettino their next manager, would the Argentinian remain true to his word?
Asked last year whether he could ever cross the North London divide, Pochettino couldn’t have been much clearer.
Ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is an ideal successor to Unai Emery if the Spaniard is axed and the Argentinian can be lured to big rivals Arsenal
He said: “I am never going to be manager of Barcelona or Arsenal because I am so identified with Tottenham and Espanyol.
“That is my decision because I prefer to work on my farm in Argentina than in some places.”
So will we see the sacked Spurs boss back home on his tractor, milking the cattle and singing ‘ee-aye-ee-aye-oh?’
Or, like most arch-professionals in football, might he be tempted by the opportunity to manage one of Europe’s foremost clubs, where the infrastructure and much of the squad suggest the right manager could bring a rapid upturn in fortunes?
After all, Poch’s successor Jose Mourinho swore blind that he would never manage Spurs, out of respect to Chelsea fans, during his second spell at Stamford Bridge in 2015.
Last week, the current Chelsea chief Frank Lampard was asked the same the same question about Spurs and insisted: “There are some things you wouldn’t do . . . I can firmly say no. You can replay that again in ten years if you want!”
Yet as his own uncle Harry Redknapp proved, when he moved from Portsmouth to Southampton and back again, local rivalries are for fans to worry about, not managers.
‘BEST CANDIDATE AVAILABLE’
George Graham served for three years at Spurs, while Steve Bruce has managed both North East clubs, both Birmingham clubs and both Sheffield clubs without too many people claiming he isn’t, at the very least, a thoroughly good bloke.
There should be no surprise that Pochettino is being strongly linked to Arsenal, where Unai Emery is now a dead man walking.
Poch is available and has a fine track record of Premier League over-achievement. Not even the most blinkered Gooner could deny that — putting aside local bitterness — he is the best available candidate.
Of the other front-runners, Mikel Arteta is untried and was not especially popular with players during his days as an Arsenal coach.
And former Juventus boss Max Allegri has no pedigree in English football. He would represent a shot in the dark similar to Emery’s appointment 18 months ago.
The mood music suggests it is now a matter of if, not when, Emery is sacked. And should Pochettino give the slightest indication that he would be interested, there would be a sharp acceleration.
Man City coach Mikel Arteta is thought to be a contender should Unai Emery exit Arsenal – but he is untried as a managerCredit: AFP or licensors
The story of the Kroenke family ownership of Arsenal has been one of drift, neglect and complacency.
Arsene Wenger was allowed to go on for several years too long, the club have become Europa League regulars and, as proved in this weekend’s fortuitous home draw against struggling Southampton, the defence remains a shambles.
For once, could the Kroenkes make a decisive, positive move and persuade Pochettino? Because the truest indication that Arsenal are in crisis came with a suggestion that even the posh old boys in the boardroom are becoming restless.
Chairman Sir John Chippendale ‘Chips’ Lindley Keswick is said to be considering his position because of the heat the board are under over Emery’s continued employment.
And while Sir Chips is little more than a figurehead, these port-and-cigars men have rarely been known to rock the boat in such fashion.
His fellow director, Lord Harris of Carpets, could be tearing at the shagpile next.
Arsenal need to find a proven manager who can hit the ground running to unite and energise a fractured and under-achieving squad.
Max Allegri had a great record at Juve but has no Premier League pedigreeCredit: Reuters
They also need a good communicator to deliver a strong message to Arsenal’s restive fanbase after 18 months of Emery’s indecipherability.
Emery’s decision to award the captaincy to Granit Xhaka, a move which sent supporters into open revolt, was a typical example of a manager who simply doesn’t get his club.
Pochettino, at his motivated best, would be capable of reversing all that.
The likelihood remains that the 47-year-old would turn down any overtures from Arsenal.
Perhaps because he needs a sabbatical on the farm after years of ceaseless work; perhaps because he fancies his chances of landing the Manchester United or Real Madrid job in the near future, rather than any desperate desire not to upset Spurs fans.
But the prospect of Poch to Arsenal is an intriguing one.
And you would have to imagine that it would even intrigue the man himself.
LEFT RY ’N DRY
AMID the Jose Mourinho love-in at Spurs, spare a thought for £25million summer signing Ryan Sessegnon.
The former Fulham prodigy was voted the Championship’s Player of the Year, at just 17, two seasons ago.
And he long craved a move to Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham, where kids would always get a chance.
Yet Sessegnon arrived at White Hart Lane with injury problems.
He also found Poch in a dark mood before the Argentine was axed and replaced by Mourinho — whose mistrust of youth is legendary.
Sessegnon did not even make the bench for Mourinho’s opener at West Ham on Saturday and a January loan move is already on the cards.
Former Fulham hero Ryan Sessegnon faces being loaned out in January after failing to make the Spurs first-teamCredit: PA:Press Association
GET LIONS OUT OF A JAM
JAMIE VARDY is not only clear at the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts but his excellent assist for Ayoze Perez’s opener at Brighton showed off the Leicester man’s exceptional awareness and unselfishness.
If Gareth Southgate could hand out a token testimonial-style cap to Wayne Rooney two years after his previous appearance, then he can canvas Vardy for an England comeback at Euro 2020, despite his international retirement after the last World Cup.
YOUNG SOLS
MANCHESTER UNITED’S fightback at Sheffield United on Sunday, which saw three homegrown kids score in seven minutes, suggests the average age of the side will get younger still.
As Frank Lampard is proving at Chelsea, promoting kids is a surefire way of increasing a manager’s popularity and lifespan.
There is plenty wrong at Old Trafford. But the emergence of Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood, as well as the revitalisation of Marcus Rashford, gives boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the supporters something to cling on to.
SILVA’S HAD HIS DAY
EVERTON’S next five games are Leicester, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal.
After that little lot, you’d expect the Toffees to be in the bottom three, with Marco Silva axed.
They have spent almost half a billion since Farhad Moshiri’s takeover in 2016, yet the club’s staggering mismanagement remains largely beneath the radar.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola hints that Mikel Arteta could replace Unai Emery at Arsenal
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
