Former Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique is reportedly prepared advances from Premier League rivals Chelsea to succeed Arsene Wenger as the next Arsenal boss.
The 47-year-old is currently on a season-long sabbatical but is expected to return to management before the start of the 2018/19 campaign.
Enrique has been widely tipped to seal a move to Chelsea amid the uncertainty surrounding the future of manager Antonio Conte.
However, according to The Star, the Spaniard is now said to be having second thoughts over the move, given Blues’ Roman Abramovich has the habit of chopping and changing managers, should the club fail to attain regular success in terms of silverware.
As a result, the Catalan tactician is said to be eyeing a move to Arsenal with Arsene Wenger’s future likely to be assessed at the end of the campaign.
Wenger is presently contracted to the Gunners until the summer of 2019, but his position is likely to be analysed during the off-season, should the club fail to win the Europa League title this term.
Arsenal are very much out of contention for a top-four spot in the Premier League, and lifting Europe’s second competition now remains the best route to qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
However, they have tricky opposition in the form Atletico Madrid, Lazio and RB Leipzig on their way en-route to the final in Lyon.
Irrespective of which head coach is in-charge, there is expected to be transfer activity during the summer with head of recruitment Sven Mislintat said to be eyeing a new goalkeeper, central defender and holding midfielder prior to the start of the next season.
