Luke Edwards has been speaking on the latest edition of the BBC’s Football Daily podcast about news from many Premier League clubs after the weekend’s action.
One topic that The Telegraph reporter spent a lot of time on was Arsenal and Mikel Arteta’s future after the Gunners lost 1-0 at home to Burnley and are currently 15th in the table, just five points above the relegation zone.
This led to a discussion on his future, and Edwards suggested that former Newcastle United, Chelsea, and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez would be interested in taking over at the Emirates Stadium.
He said: “I will tell you who is available: Rafa Benitez, who is unhappy in China [and] would love to come back to the Premier League; I think he would absolutely love that job.”
TIF Thoughts on Benitez coming in at Arsenal…
Throughout his long managerial career, the Spaniard has won trophies pretty much everywhere he has been, and with Chelsea and Liverpool, he never finished outside of the top seven.
Now, considering the Gunners are currently seven points from 7th place, then that could be a realistic aim if Arsenal decided to replace Arteta and bring in Benitez.
There are rumours of unrest in the dressing room at Arsenal, and given their form, it is unclear how long Arteta will last.
If they do get rid of him, then we think that Benitez, given his track record in the Premier League and impressive list of honours, could be an ideal appointment for the Gunners.
However, for now, Arteta remains the Arsenal manager, so we feel talk about potential replacements is a bit pointless until that changes.