Revealed – The leading candidate to succeed Unai Emery as permanent Arsenal manager

The appointment of club legend Freddie Ljungberg hasn’t turned around the fortunes for the Gunners who continue to look for their first win under the interim manager.

Manchester City assistant manager and former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta is the leading candidate to succeed Unai Emery as the next permanent Arsenal head coach.

The Telegraph has reported that the ex-Spanish midfielder is emerging as the top choice of the Arsenal board which is alarmed by the club’s results in the past few months.

However, while the Gunners have already started working through their list of potential permanent managers, they are yet to decide whether to make the appointment now or wait until the end of the ongoing season.

Also, while Arteta is undoubtedly emerging as the prime candidate to replace Emery, the assistant to Pep Guardiola would have to go through a lengthy interview process before Arsenal would hand him the role of their manager.

With Brendan Rodgers having already signed a new long-term contract at Leicester City and Eddie Howe refusing to leave Bournemouth mid-season, Arteta has emerged as the bookies’ favorite to land the Gunners job.

Provided Pep Guardiola doesn’t block the move of his assistant to London, which he might do by luring the Spaniard with the prospect of succeeding him at Manchester City, there aren’t many other reasons one could foresee stopping Arteta from declining the opportunity to manage the Gunners.

Freddie Ljungberg, who was named the club’s interim manager after the departure of Unai Emery, has been unable to convince either the fans or the board about his ability to manage the club for long-term, with the Gunners losing one and drawing another of the Swede’s opening 2 games at the helm.

If results don’t improve soon for the club, and Arsenal are unable to get anything but a win from their Monday night clash with West Ham, the pressure would increase on the club’s hierarchy to find and appoint a permanent successor to Emery.