With Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal likely to come to an end in the near future, the Gunners are keeping an eye out for a successor to their iconic French manager.
Wenger has served Arsenal for 20 years since arriving at the club in 1996. His current deal expires at the end of the campaign and it is as yet unclear whether he will extend his contract at the Emirates.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis is now on the lookout for a new manager to take over the reins. The latest name in the list of potential candidates is RB Leipzig manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, according to the Sun.
The former Austrian international is a relatively unknown figure for Premier League fans, despite achieving a modicum of success with German club FC Ingolstadt. However, his exploits at newly promoted RB Leipzig have captured the attention of football fans across the world.
Lepizig are surprisingly top of the Bundesliga table in their very first season in the German top flight. They are yet to be defeated and are three points ahead of heavyweights Bayern Munich. Most impressively, they can boast of all these achievements with a squad of players mostly unfamiliar to those outside of Germany — Liverpool target Oliver Burke being a notable exception.
Hasenhuttl isn’t the first manager to be linked with the Arsenal job. AFC Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe is widely believed to be one of the most serious candidates, while the likes of Laurent Blanc and Patrick Vieira are also rumoured to be options.
Wenger leaves behind a legacy of success and sustainability at Arsenal, although this has been marred by their prolonged spell without a Premier League trophy. However, the Frenchman has gifted them the golden Premier League trophy after going through the 2003-04 season without defeat, and has instilled a style of play that is exciting, beautiful to watch and widely appreciated.
It will be a tough ask for the new manager to fill Wenger’s shoes. The likes of Hasenhuttl, Howe and Vieira all represent huge risks, but Arsenal may soon finally have to come to terms with the departure of the ever calm and dependable figure of ‘Professor’ Wenger.
