It was jokingly suggested that Arsene Wenger would swap jobs with Sam Allardyce at Everton. That would be a good move for everybody except Wenger, the fans and the two clubs. Imagine that! Big Arséne at Everton and Sam “Le Professeur” at Arsenal. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
But what options does Wenger really have open? Is it likely, or even possible, that he would be offered the PSG job?
We get the impression that, had he and the job been available ten years ago then they may have been a match made in heaven. Now, even with the impending departure of Unai Emery, PSG will surely be looking for a younger, more vibrant manager than the ageing Frenchman and if you feel like betting on who might be the new manager for Arsenal or PSG you can get great odds over at www.scommesse24.net.
It should also be remembered that his stock isn’t very high at present having just overseen the club’s failure to finish in the top four for the second season running and ending this season empty-handed as far as domestic and European trophies go.
How about the French national job? This would be considered a possibility but it would largely depend upon two things.
Firstly, France would have to have a very good, or a very bad, World Cup. Either of these two scenarios would give Didier Deschamps any excuse he may think he needs to leave the job.
Secondly, Deschamps would actually have to want to leave the job. The French FA may feel it is time for change if the team has a bad or indifferent tournament but is Wenger the man to whom they would turn?
He is certainly of an age whereby managing the national team may be an attractive proposition. His problem is that, with nothing else to do hobby-wise, (according to him), he tends to fill his life with all things football and this, when only getting together with the players occasionally, may be the aspect of international management which is off-putting to him.
So if he isn’t to return to club management and the France job doesn’t scratch the itch either then what will he do?
Well, the smarter money is now on a role being created for him at Arsenal. It would appear that the club were waiting to see if he expressed any interest in managing elsewhere as they didn’t want to stand in his way should the opportunity arise. As he doesn’t appear to be interested in going anywhere else then a job “upstairs” may make sense for both parties.
He could become a “Director of Football” type figure but, in fairness, the days when Wenger could spot the good young players, particularly in the French leagues, appear to be long gone.
It is more likely that he would take on a similar role to that of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United although he may want to be more involved than the ex-manager at Old Trafford appears to be.
He would probably like to be a mentor to the new manager but that is highly unlikely to ever be sanctioned either by the club or the new man himself!
He will just have to get used to taking a back seat and watching the club become successful again under another boss. At least he will like that bit!