The Arsenal hierarchy have made Patrick Vieira the prime candidate for the permanent head coach job, according to a report from France.

Nice-Matin claim ‘Patrick Vieira’ is a name that ‘comes back insistently’ in terms of who will take over permanently from Unai Emery at Arsenal.

They write that Arsenal’s board have made Vieira the prime candidate for the job, and the former player himself would be receptive to their interest.

Vieira responded to similar rumours last week, distancing himself from the reports. Though he never ruled out any desire to manage the club, he suggested he’s not close to leaving his current role in France.

The 43-year-old is still under contract with OGC Nice as their head coach until June 2021. His team currently sit 14th in Ligue 1, though they’re only six points off 3rd, as the division is very congested right now.

Vieira also spent a couple of years managing New York City in the MLS.

Personally, I’m not sure what makes him a better candidate than Freddie Ljungberg. He has slightly more experience but he’s yet to have any real success. Is it really better to hire someone who has spent nearly 150 games winning 42% of their matches?

Experience for the sake of experience doesn’t make you a good head coach. Nor does it make you a good fit for Arsenal Football Club. That’s not to say Ljungberg is nailed-on to be any better, of course. At least he’s less of a risk in his interim role though.

For now, the rumours are only really coming from this one Nice-based outlet anyway. It’s not surprising a media outlet close to Vieira’s current club would play up the coach’s chances of joining Arsenal. We’ll have to wait for other sources to corroborate the information.