Arsenal: Unai Emery decision only half the job

On Friday morning, Arsenal fired Unai Emery. But that is only half the job. To successfully handle this process, they must now also hire the right replacement.

Arsenal have some decisions to make. After making the one that most believed they were too cautious to ever make, the real work starts.

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On Friday morning, the Gunners fired Unai Emery. It has been a long time coming. Supporters have wanted the Spaniard to be disposed of his duties for some time, and now, perhaps months too late, the decision has finally been made.

But whenever it comes to sacking a manager, disposing is the easy bit. Choosing to move on from the incumbent in charge is simple. What makes sacking a manager successful is not the sacking itself but rather the hiring of the replacement. Liverpool would have been wrong to sack Brendan Rodgers had they not hired Jurgen Klopp. Manchester City would have been wrong to move on from Manuel Pellegrini had they not hired Pep Guardiola.

For Arsenal, sacking Emery does not happen in a vacuum. It comes with a complementary replacement. Without getting the replacement right, sacking him is not a progressive decision.

In Friday morning’s official statement, the club revealed a little into their insight regarding the next step in the process:

“We have asked Freddie Ljungberg to take responsibility for the first team as interim head coach. We have full confidence in Freddie to take us forward. The search for a new head coach is underway and we will make a further announcement when that process is complete.”

Freddie Ljungberg is the right man to lead the club forward in the short-term, but is the right long-term candidate? He has no managerial experience bar a year with the under-23s, is still very much learning the ropes of senior management, and is only 42 years of age. How comfortable would you feel if Arsenal put their future in his hands?

But there are other candidates that should cast worry. Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo looks like another Emery-like appointment, safe, cautious, easy. Mikel Arteta would be a massive risk. Carlo Ancelotti is in the latter stages of his career, while Massimiliano Allegri has English concerns.

Now, each of these may be good appointments. Equally, none of them might be. But that is up to the club to decide. What is critical, though, is that they make the right choice, because, if they do not, sacking Emery was for nought.