DECISION MADE: Arsenal made final decision on Mikel Arteta sack after recent board meeting between the club owners this morning – Club official statement coming up in the next few hours
Just a few weeks ago, a famous quadruple looked as though it could be on the cards for Arsenal.
Yet, they now face the ignominy of another trophyless season. They lost the Carabao Cup final, are now out of the FA Cup and have seen their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to six points.
It’s led to questions surrounding Mikel Arteta’s future. It’s damning that a manager can face such scrutiny when his team are top of the division, but alas, things are not all as rosy as they look on paper for the Gunners.
Arsenal-Carabao-Cup-final-Saka-Kepa
The recruitment, the style of football and the stubbornness of Arteta are all currently being put under the microscope.
While talks surrounding a new contract for the Spaniard take place, what would happen if they did genuinely miss out on the title? Could a changing of the guard occur? Possibly.
Who could replace Arteta at Arsenal?
In the unlikely scenario in which the former midfielder did lose his job, then a plethora of top managers would no doubt throw their hat into the ring.
At Como in Serie A, former Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas is performing miracles. Promoted out of Serie B last term, they are now fifth in Serie A and stand a wonderful chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Cesc-Fabregas-Como
Another Spaniard in the form of Xabi is out of work, while Premier League managers in the shape of Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner will all be out of contract at the end of the ongoing campaign.
Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino, the managers of Germany and USA, could also both be available after the World Cup.
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Yet, there is another option and his name is Xabi Alonso. Yet another Spanish-born tactician, Alonso has been widely tipped to take over at Liverpool should the Reds cut ties with the underperforming Arne Slot.
Alonso is reportedly keen on coming back to the Premier League 16 years after departing Anfield as a player. Since then, he’s won the whole gamut of honours with Real Madrid, become a manager, and gone back to Madrid, this time as head coach.
Xabi Alonso real madrid training
But, why would he be such a strong Arteta replacement for the Arsenal hierarchy to consider?
Why Arsenal must consider Xabi Alonso at Arsenal
Arteta has taken Arsenal a long way. When he entered the club, they were in disarray under Unai Emery. They were not in the Champions League and were losing out financially.
Well, since his arrival, the Spaniard has worked wonders. An eighth-place finish in his debut year is as bad as it has been. They have finished second in each of the last three seasons.
Arteta’s Arsenal tenure
Games
342
Wins
211
Draws
58
Defeats
73
Goals scored
683
Goals conceded
348
Points per game
2.02
Major trophies
1 (FA Cup)
Top appearance maker
Saka (285)
Top goal scorer
Saka (76)
Top assist maker
Saka (65)
Patience during that time has been exercised by supporters but with yet another second place potentially on the cards, time is wearing thin. Fans are growing tired of several things, primarily the style of football.
Arsenal might be top of the league but the swashbuckling Arsenal way of old has been eradicated. Arteta has prioritised solidity at the back. There can be no denying that it has worked. Yet, he has also prioritised slow and patient build-up play.
saka-arteta
Set-pieces have become the order of the day and while the Gunners are a lot more than just about swinging in a corner or free-kick, it has come at the detriment of open play threat. Against Bournemouth, as they lost 2-1, they did so having amassed a dismal open play xG of 0.18. Had Viktor Gyokeres not struck home his first-half penalty, they were not scoring in a month of Sundays.
In Alonso, that could all change. While the Spaniard may have been sacked from his role at Madrid, he achieved remarkable levels of success in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen, winning the Bundesliga unbeaten.
Xabi Alonso record at Real Madrid (timeless)
There would be something romantic about Alonso coming to manage a team who are England’s modern-day Invincibles. Not since that unbeaten Premier League title win of 2003/04 have they won England’s top prize. The former Liverpool midfielder could help them finally get over the line.
While Arteta has taken inspiration from his good mate and former colleague Pep Guardiola, he has adapted it in a different way. Alonso, on the other hand, feels a lot closer to Pep.
The former Leverkusen boss admitted in April 2016, while he was still playing, that “Pep Guardiola represents my version of perfection in football.”
As a manager, he’s certainly cut from a similar cloth. Indeed, Catalan writer Marti Perarnau told The Athletic in December 2025: “The relationship between Pep and Xabi at Bayern was very good, and very intense. They established a friendship, which extended to the families. Xabi wanted to understand Pep’s ideas and constantly asked for details to learn them. He was like a sponge, absorbing Guardiola’s ideas about the game.”
That is very much seen in the tactical set-up and method with which Alonso likes his teams to play. Favouring a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, it’s very possession-based, taking influence from Pep’s classic style. It’s more than just passing it around nicely, however. It’s about tactical flexibility, positional play and exerting control over the opposition.
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before the match
Arteta loves control. He lusts after it every game but Alonso could bring that, plus an improvement in play style. You don’t topple Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga without having a bit about you.
Described as a “genius tactician” by Sky Sports’ Felix Fischer, the 44-year-old would be a cracking replacement if the Kroenkes decided to make a change over the summer.
