No sooner did Juventus secure a thumping win over Barcelona in the Champions League quarters that the Arsenal fans swept over the social media with their admiration for the Italian boss, Massimiliano Allegri. With increasing frustration at the Arsenal camp, the Wenger-out brigade has multiplied over the past few weeks and reports of Arsenal contacting the Juventus boss has also surfaced.
The North-London club is currently sitting in the sixth position of the league table with a real chance of missing out on the top four spot, which has been their home for the past 21 years. Arsenal are trailing by seven points to fourth-placed Manchester City with eight games more to play.
Wenger’s era looks to have come to an end with his talks clearly not reaching the players’ ears as reflected in their performances. Arsenal have lost to the likes of Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in the last two away league games conceding three goals each time. The back line has been making the same mistakes over and over again and the frustrating defeats are all complemented by the disappointed Wenger look in the dugout, which is so intensely abhorred by the fans now.
And the adamant demeanour of the Frenchman in staying tight-lipped over his future at the club in press conferences as well as post-match interviews have really got on the nerves of many. The manager quite stupidly denies the fact that his uncertainty has any effect on the team when it has clearly taken the toll.
One can only imagine the unrest the fans would create if Wenger signs the two-year contract that is placed on the table by the board. While suggestions of different names to take over the helm has flooded the newspapers, Arsenal have to be extremely careful in choosing their successor.
Someone with the same approach like Wenger with a modern mindset is required and Allegri, quite ideally, fits the bill in his attributes of nurturing young talents and bringing the best out of them. If unearthing big talents is concerned, Allegri can be credited with bringing up players like Stephan El Shaarawy, Mattia De Sciglio and later on Mario Balotelli during his stint with Milan.
He has won almost everything in Italy with Milan and Juventus with his cunning tactics hugely applauded as Juventus defeated Real Madrid in the 2015 Champions League semis before losing out to Barcelona in the final.
Like Wenger, Allegri is also an advocate of the 4-2-3-1 setup, which means Arsenal won’t need much adjusting under him. Of course, he will need some major ship-ins to execute the plans properly and with Arsenal ready to splash the cash this time, a dream move may be on the cards.
