Unai Emery was chosen ahead of Massimiliano Allegri and Mikel Arteta who were the other two managers on the final shortlist to be named Arsenal boss.
The former Paris Saint-Germain boss took over from the long-serving Arsene Wenger at the beginning of last season, but has found himself under increased pressure in recent weeks due to the Gunners’ shaky start to the campaign.
Arsenal are without a win in their last three matches and have conceded seven goals to Liverpool, Tottenham and Watford, the latter coming from two goals down to salvage a point on Sunday.
And it has now been reported that Emery was joined by two other managers on Arsenal’s final shortlist as they hunted for Wenger’s successor.
According to The Athletic, Max Allegri and Mikel Arteta were in consideration for the role, and when Emery was appointed it actually came as something of a shock.
Allegri chose to remain with Juventus instead of moving to north London and won his fifth consecutive Serie A title with Juventus, but is currently out of work after leaving the club at the end of last campaign.
Former Arsenal midfielder Arteta is assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and helped the club win a second successive Premier League title in 2018/19.
The Athletic also claim that some Arsenal players are growing disillusioned with Emery’s prolonged training sessions, with video analysis sessions said to take up to two hours.
talkSPORT host Adrian Durham believes former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho should replace Emery at the Emirates next summer.
“Time is running out for Unai Emery,” said the Drivetime host. “He’s coming up to the end of the two years and there is no difference to the darkest days under Arsene Wenger.
Click Here: mochila fjallraven
“They conceded more chances to Watford than they did in the 8-2 at Man United.
“So these are just as bad these times for Arsenal and they are nowhere nearer challenging for the title than they were in those latter years under Wenger.
Adrian Durham says Arsenal should ditch Unai Emery… and hire Jose Mourinho
“It’s a fanbase and a club that is living a delusion that their players are really good.
“The midfield and the defending is not good enough and I’m not even sure about the goalkeeper. It looks like they’re not being coached correctly or told the right things.
“Something drastic needs to be done.
“You know who they need? Jose Mourinho. He would be perfect for Arsenal, and he’s a free agent!
LIVE on talkSPORT
Check out all the live commentaries coming up across the talkSPORT network this week
- Napoli vs Liverpool (Tuesday, 8pm) – talkSPORT
- Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona (Tuesday, 8pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Olympiakos vs Tottenham (Wednesday, 5:55pm) – talkSPORT
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs Man City (Wednesday, 8pm) – talkSPORT
- PSG vs Real Madrid (Wednesday, 8pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs Arsenal (Thursday, 5:55pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Leicester vs Tottenham (Saturday, 12:30pm) – talkSPORT
- Leeds vs Derby (Saturday, 12:30pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Everton vs Sheffield United (Saturday, 3pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Newcastle vs Brighton (Saturday, 5:30pm) – talkSPORT
- West Brom vs Huddersfield (Sunday, 12pm) – talkSPORT 2
“Their fans would hate me saying it, but can you see it getting better under Unai Wenger? I cant.
“They need somebody who will go in there and shake the club up – Mourinho is exactly what they need!
“He would 100 per cent take that job, this is the job he’s been looking for.
“This is what Arsenal need – Jose Mourinho in charge.”