Arsenal: Everyone loves a dark horse, and that’s Niko Kovac

Arsenal need to find a new manager, and fast. But nabbing Niko Kovac wouldn’t be a desperation move. It’s another investment in the long-run.

Arsenal fans aren’t excited about links to Niko Kovac. The former Bayern Munich manager has ben linked to a move to the Gunners, but they’re more interested in guys like Max Allegri (hell yeah!) or Carlo Ancelotti (hell no!).

It’s easy to overlook Niko Kovac, but he falls in the primary camp of what we should be looking for in a manager—you need someone who has proven they can win, who is still young enough to meld into “the Arsenal way” and isn’t going to toss everything out that this club has been built on. Essentially, someone who respects the culture of the club.

Kovac is that. he has proven he can win. He won a lot in his short time at Bayern Munich, and while you may say anyone could do that, I think we have recently learned that this simply isn’t true.

He also comes from the Croatian School of Hard Knocks, which is a metaphorical school I just thought up where he learned how to play tough, gritty football (because he actually does). This is something I think we could all get behind.

And while he won at Bayern, he also defeated Bayern at much smaller Eintracht Frankfurt. Don’t turn your nose up at this guys track record, abbreviated though it is.

Kovac also has a history working with youth systems, which is something we so desperately need, as we really need someone who can emphasize the youth side of the game and not so much focus on the bloated superstars. Which is something else he should have learned plenty about in his time in Germany.

Kovac has two big-time calling cards with his tactical style. And they are two calling cards that happen to fit tremendous voids at the club—solid defensive play and building the attack from wide angles.

Also known as the two things we just don’t have. Our defense has been terrible for going on ten years and I don’t think we’ve had a reliable winger in just as long. Theo Walcott was our last decent winger and he wanted to be a striker.

He’s not a flashy candidate, but he’s a strong one. He’s the kind of guy that fans will turn their nose up at, but don’t. There is a lot to like about his candidacy.