In what the Sunday Express is touting as an exclusive story the British newspaper claims that manger Arsene Wenger’s time at the Emirates will come to an end if the Gunners fail to beat Hull City in their FA Cup fifth round replay at Hull on Tuesday.
This along with their expected exit in the Champions League when they play Barcelona at the Nou Camp on March 16, is enough to have the board asking for Wenger to step down at the end of the season from the club he has managed for the last 20 years.
The man the newspaper claims the club is lining up to replace Wenger is former club captain Patrick Vieira.
An insider at the club claims that it was the way previously loyal fans turned on the 66-year-old Frenchman following the 2-1 loss against Swansea City that now has the directors thinking about making a change in leadership, despite Arsenal still not being out of the race for the title.
Vieira was at Arsenal for nine years as a player wining three league titles and is currently the head coach of New York City FC, a club owned by the same people who own Manchester City in the English Premiership.
So strong is the Frenchman’s link to the Arsenal job that bookmakers William Hill now have him favourite to replace Wenger at odds of 7/1 to take over what is arguably the safest managers job in English football.
