Shanghai SIPG head coach Vitor Pereira is in contention to succeed Unai Emery at Arsenal, according to the Daily Telegraph. Mauricio Pochettino is the Gunners’ preferred candidate but the Portuguese manager is a surprise name on the club’s shortlist.

The 51-year-old led Shanghai to the Chinese Super League title in 2018, and also won two league titles when he coached Porto between 2011 and 2013.

However, it is his brief time in charge of Olympiakos which is certainly the most interesting part of his career so far. Just one month after taking charge of the Greek club, he incited a riot during a derby against Panathinaikos.

After both he and some of his players had objects thrown at them by Panathinaikos supporters in the warm-up before the match, Pereira then made what was described as an obscene gesture to the crowd which led to a pitch invasion.

Earlier this month, despite the incident happening nearly five years ago, the Portuguese was given an eight month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court for inciting violence.