Lukas Podolski thinks Arsenal should look to Germany for their next managerial appointment, after learning of Arsene Wenger’s imminent departure.
Last Friday, the Arsenal boss announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season. The hunt for a replacement should be well underway by now, and Podolski threw his opinion into the mix at the weekend.
“I am of the opinion that Arsenal would be good for a German manager,” he told Sunday’s Morgenpost am Sonntag. “This is my feeling. The club has been relying on German know-how for several years now.”
Presumably the 32-year-old is referring to the fairly strong German contingent at the club right now. Per Mertesacker is the club’s captain, and will take over managing the academy next season. Mesut Özil is the star of the team, and Shkodran Mustafi is the most vocal member of the defence.
Maybe a German manager could help build on those key pieces of the Arsenal puzzle and improve the team.
Here are the German coaches who have been linked with Arsenal in recent weeks:
2Joachim Low
For the last 12 years, Low has been in charge of the German national team. The team have had a lot of success during that period, most notably winning the World Cup in 2014.
They also won the Confederations Cup in 2017, as well as finishing as runners up in the European Championship in 2008.
Their third-placed finishes in the World Cup and European Championships in 2010, 2012 and 2016 mean the country have finished in the top-three at the last five major international tournaments.
The main concern is that the 58-year-old would struggle to adapt to club management.
His last job as a club coach ended in 2004, and a massive amount has changed since then.
Plus, he was managing the likes of Austria Wien, Fenerbahce and VfB Stuttgart in those days. Not exactly the top teams in Europe.
Nonetheless, if Low can transfer his international success to Arsenal, he’d make a great appointment.