Mauricio Pochettino's first season as Arsenal boss predicted by Football Manager

What would happen if Mauricio Pochettino became Arsenal manager, following Unai Emery's departure?

Today, Arsenal put Unai Emery out of his misery.

The club have confirmed that the Spaniard and his staff have parted company with Arsenal, after a run of poor performances and results over the last few weeks have left fans eager for a change of manager, and now they've got their wish.

So, who could replace Emery as Arsenal manager?

Well, Mauricio Pochettino is available, and although it's looking unlikely at the moment, weirder things have happened in football!

We used Football Manager 2020 to have a bit of fun and see what could happen if Arsenal appointed Pochettino, including where the club would finish in the Premier League under the Argentine.

Mauricio Pochettino at Arsenal

So, how would Pochettino get on?

The Argentine did more than make the top four for Arsenal, he made them genuine title challengers.

Arsenal finished in second place in the league table, just four points behind champions Liverpool, and seven points ahead of Manchester City, finishing with an outstanding 87 points total.

Premier League: Second Place (Runners-Up)

Tottenham, with Jose Mourinho in charge, finished in sixth place with just 60 points, some 27 points behind Pochettino's new side. Ouch!

You can read all about Mourinho's predicted struggles at Spurs here.

The Argentine largely played a 4-2-3-1, in what was a similar system to the one he deployed at Spurs, playing Mesut Ozil as a playmaker in the number ten role, with Aubameyang and Pepe in wide areas.

Ceballos and Guendouzi were preferred to Xhaka or Torreira in midfield, with Tierney, David Luiz and Calum Chambers all first team regulars.

Lacazette was in outstanding form under Pochettino, scoring 25 goals in the season, as Guendouzi led the assist charts with 11.

Some of Arsenal's best results included a thrilling 3-2 win against Poch's former team Spurs.

They also beat eventual champions Liverpool at the Emirates, with Pepe and Lacazette both scoring.

But it wasn't all good for Arsenail under Poch, they didn't make a big impact in the domestic cup competitions, going out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round (lost to Manchester United) and the FA Cup quarter-final (lost to Liverpool).

The Gunners also reached the Europa League final, beating teams like Sevilla, Lazio and Eintracht Frankfurt along the way, but eventually lost the final to fellow English side Manchester United.

FA Cup: Quarter-Final

Carabao Cup: Fourth Round

Europa League: Final

At the end of the season, Pochettino had to deal with some big player issues, with three of his squad transfer listed for differing reasons.

Mesut Ozil was immediately transfer listed for failing to agree a new deal at the end of the season, with Poch demanding £33million.

Shkodran Mustafi was also transfer listed after Poch didn't deem him good enough to be registered in the Arsenal squad.

Former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka also demanded a move, with the Switzerland international not being a regular under Pochettino.

So Pochettino again failed to win a trophy in 2019/20, this time with Arsenal, but he did achieve an outstanding league finish.

Overall, Football Manager 2020 predicts that he would be a great appointment at Arsenal, if they decide to appoint him as the club's new manager.

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