All is not good for Unai Emery right now. His job as Arsenal manager is on the line, and he needs to turn the results around soon.
Should Emery be relieved of his duties, José Mourinho is thought to be keen on taking over at the club, and that’s just a fantastic idea. You know, unless you’re an Arsenal fan.
Here are eight reasons why Mourinho going to Arsenal would be amazing for everyone apart from the Gunners.
He Is the Exact Opposite of Arsenal
Let’s just be clear, are we talking about the same Arsenal? The Arsenal who are famous for favouring a long-term approach over any short-term success?
Historically, the Gunners have always been keen on building a dynasty like the one we saw under Arsène Wenger. The Frenchman spent a whopping 22 years at the club, and his focus was on promoting young players and building a team who could compete for the next decade.
Mourinho hasn’t even been in management 22 years and he has already had eight different jobs. By today’s standards, that’s relatively normal, but that’s just not how Arsenal do things. To see them desperately steer away from their values would be fantastic.
It Might Make Arsène Wenger Cry
When Wenger left the club back in 2018, he asked fans to ‘take care of the values of the club’. Are we just not doing that anymore?
Wenger’s style of management is nothing like Mourinho’s so, by bringing the Portuguese boss in at the Emirates Stadium, it’d effectively be like telling Wenger that they just didn’t care about him anymore. Brilliant.
Wenger doesn’t deserve that disrespect, and certainly not from the club who he transformed into a Premier League giant.
He’d Probably Make Arsenal Worse (Eventually)
Listen, nobody is going to sit and try act like Mourinho doesn’t know how to win trophies. That’s pretty much been his thing ever since he got into the job. However, what he also knows how to do is leave a club in ruin.
Chelsea were left battling relegation, while Manchester United weren’t faring much better when Mourinho left them. Surely the same thing would happen at Arsenal.
For everyone who isn’t an Arsenal fan, the inevitable self-destruction is probably not worth seeing Arsenal raise a trophy or two, but it would definitely be good to watch.
He’d Divide Fans Before Even Starting the Job
There are some fans who would love to see Mourinho in the Emirates dugout, but there are plenty who could hardly be more against the idea.
For the rest of the league, that civil war between the Gooners is the stuff of dreams. He’d be facing an uphill battle trying to stop the toxicity from poisoning his squad, because we all know what Arsenal fans can do to their players if their not happy (hi, Granit Xhaka).
Just think of the carnage. It’s great.
He’d Sell All the Youngsters to Afford Ivan Perišić
I’ll tell you who’s a great footballer: Ivan Perišić
Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson and Gabriel Martinelli would be out the door faster than you can say ‘Special One’. Sacrificing the future isn’t a problem to Mourinho, who doesn’t often think past what he’s having for breakfast tomorrow.
He’d Convince the Board to Spend £300m on Nemanja Matić
Once
£300m transfer fee. £500,000-a-week wages. Everyone’s a winner, apart from Arsenal.
Nicolas Pépé Would Play at Right-Back
Yeah, Pépé’s a good winger, but have you ever wondered what he would be like at right-back? I bet Mourinho has.
Attacking flair would mean nothing anymore. It’s all about defensive pragmatism. If you’re not making over 1,000 tackles each game then you’re just a waste of space to Mourinho.
Arsenal’s record signing would be shoehorned into the most uncomfortable role possible, and that would inevitably make them worse. The dream.
And the Rest of the Stars Would Be Forced Out
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and Mourinho alienating a star player to the point of utter misery.
Would Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang want to stay after being told his defending isn’t good enough to warrant a place in the team? Would Mattéo Guendouzi be happy with an underperforming
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