According to Talksport, renowned French journalist Julien Laurens thinks Patrick Vieira could be an ideal replacement for Unai Emery at Arsenal. Laurens told Talksport “I think we’re still far away from Unai Emery leaving the club and having to find a replacement, but if and when it happens Patrick Vieira will be on the shortlist and rightly so.”
But, is Vieira really a viable option for the Gunners?
Vieira’s managerial career so far
Vieira started his managerial career at Manchester City, where he was the youth co-ordinator before being the assistant manager to Manuel Pellegrini. He left the Etihad in December 2015 and joined New York City FC.
In the 2017 season, Vieira helped NYCFC, which is Man City’s sister club in the USA, finish second in the league table, with 57 points on the board. He achieved similar statistics the following year, although the club ended third, behind Atalanta United and arch-rivals New York Red Bulls.
The Frenchman managed NYCFC in 90 competitive matches and maintained an impressive point per match ratio of 1.58. As a result, he was appointed as the manager of OGC Nice last summer, following the departure of Lucien Favre, who, in turn, joined Borussia Dortmund.
Vieira guided Nice to a seventh-placed finish in the league last season. But, his side has been struggling a lot in this new campaign, having picked up just 17 points from 13 matches.
Is Vieira a viable target for Arsenal?
Vieira has experience of working with managers like Pellegrini while he has also worked as a youth co-ordinator at Man City. That means he is well aware of the youth scene not only in England but also in his native France. However, there are certain risks involved behind the potential appointment of Vieira as the Arsenal boss.
First and foremost, the Frenchman has minimal managerial experience. He has, in fact, struggled in his first managerial venture in Europe with OGC Nice, attaining a point per game ratio of just 1.38.
Furthermore, one would argue that someone like Mikel Arteta would make more sense to Arsenal. The former midfielder has worked with Pep Guardiola, whose possession-based style of football is synonymous to the Arsenal way of football. The Spaniard has also worked in England longer than Vieira and understands the system perfectly well.
Therefore, Arsenal should definitely avoid taking a risk on someone like Vieira. They should, instead, go for a more promising young manager like Arteta or settle for an assured and experienced option in Jose Mourinho or Massimiliano Allegri.
