Paul Merson has claimed that he would be “shocked” if Brendan Rodgers won’t be an Arsenal manager next season.
The Gunners legend is convinced that the manager’s role will be available following a disastrous season under Wenger. The French manager signed a two-year extension after lifting the FA Cup last season, but after a wretched campaign the North London club are ready to move Wenger upstairs.
The former Arsenal midfielder and current Sky Sports pundit feels that it is the right time for Rodgers to depart Celtic and take up the Gunners job.
“I don’t know why he doesn’t get the Arsenal job?” stated Merson for Sky Bet’s Twitter account.
“He fits Arsenal great, the nearest Liverpool have ever come to winning the league for a long long time is when Brendan Rodgers was in charge.
“He’s done nothing wrong at Celtic, to do what they’ve done, people can say it’s Scottish football and Celtic are head and shoulders above, but every team they played on that run treated it like a cup final, which is difficult sometimes.
“I’ll be shocked if he didn’t get a good job, I’d be quite shocked if he didn’t get the Arsenal job.”
Rodgers was appointed Celtic manager back in May 2016 and became the first manager in the club’s history to win four domestic trophies after claiming Scottish League Cup in November.
The Irishman enjoyed a fruitful spell in the Premier League where his Liverpool side made a run for the title. A hallmark of Rodgers style is the importance he places on players showing “character” and Arsenal are actually lacking a bit of character, as evidenced by their cataclysmic Carabao Cup final display, so this might not be such a bad thing.
He does deserve credit for the way he promotes pure soccer. During his spell at Liverpool, and even before with Swansea, he set his sides up to play attacking soccer and delivered just that. He might not be quite the tactician that Wenger is but Arsenal fans can strap themselves in for some forward-thinking soccer if Rodgers gets the nod.
