Unai Emery is the ‘clear favourite’ to replace Arsene Wenger, according to new reports in the English media.

The Express claim the Paris Saint-Germain coach will join Arsenal at the end of the season. They report Emery wants £8.5m-a-year, and the Gunners would be ‘reluctant to part with such a figure’.

The manager himself already confirmed he’ll leave PSG at the end of the season, so he’s certainly available.

Reportedly, Emery is a more likely candidate than Luis Enrique or Massimiliano Allegri, because the latter pair both have reservations about the two tier management structure at Arsenal.

To me, this all sounds like complete nonsense. Firstly, I’m not sure why Enrique would have a problem with Arsenal’s management structure after working at Barcelona. They have almost exactly the same setup. The system at Juventus doesn’t seem particularly different either. That’s just modern football.

Secondly, the idea that Arsenal would be reluctant to part with £8.5m-a-year for a manager is bizarre. They were already paying Arsene Wenger £8m-a-year, or more, depending on which outlet you believe.

Surely the club know they might have to pay a bit extra to replace a manager of 22 years?

Overall, the details of this story make me very doubtful that the entire thing isn’t just a fabrication. We’ll see in the coming weeks.