46 years later and Arsenal have officially got a new worst start ever to a season.
Mikel Arteta has led Arsenal to just 14 points from their opening 14 league games, with eight defeats and just 12 goals scored so far.
The performances and form of the Gunners have seen the pressure mount on their former captain, but the options to take over from him seem slim currently. Lets take a look at who the contenders are to take over and how they could potentially fare.
The bookies favourite is former Juventus and AC Milan boss, Max Allegri. The two-time Champions League finalist has been without a job since leaving Juventus in the summer of 2019, having won five Serie A titles in a row.
He’s been linked with several top jobs including Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain too but Arsenal seem to be the closest to him right now.
Stylistically, he goes against what Arsenal’s reported values are when it comes to on the pitch. He is very pragmatic as a coach and often relies on individual ability in attack. It’s no shock that he was the man in charge of Juventus when Cristiano Ronaldo came to the club, but defensively he is able to organise a team very well.
It doesn’t come across as much different to Arteta, other than he brings some name value to the team. I can’t see that he would be interested in going to the Emirates in their current state but Arsenal would do well to get a bigger name than him.
Another option that has just become available is another ex-captain of the club, Patrick Vieira.
The legendary French midfielder was recently sacked by Nice after two years in charge of the Ligue 1 club. He got them into the Europa League but following five successive defeats and elimination in the group stages, he was let go.
But with the current trend of hiring legendary players as manager, Vieira has a shout at the Arsenal job. Beyond being arguably the best captain in the club’s history, there isn’t much more that makes him deserving of the job.
A shout that a lot of Arsenal fans are making online is for Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. The Austrian has received widespread praise for the job he has done with the Saints, with the south-coast club playing attractive football despite a weaker squad than a lot of the division.
Tactically, he could be the answer but whether he is the type of profile that a club like Arsenal should be looking at is questionable.
Some could argue that where Arsenal are at the moment, they can’t be too selective about who takes charge. But that is arguably what got them in the trouble they’re in now, opting for the hipster pick rather than going with someone more proven.
For me the best options would be someone like Peter Bosz, Erik Ten Hag or a cheeky move for former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
These guys have proven themselves at the elite level, play attractive football and have shown they have the qualities to build a squad to compete, even with a budget.
Whether they could be tempted to leave Leverkusen or Ajax or whether Pochettino would opt for the job considering his recent comments about wanting a top project is a different story.
Arsenal need to seriously consider this next appointment because not only do they need instant results, but they need someone who can produce in the long-term too and get them back to where they feel they deserve to be.
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