Representatives of Paulo Sousa claim Arsenal have the Bordeaux manager on their shortlist of long-term replacements for Unai Emery.

As we know, Arsenal are currently in the hunt for a successor to Unai Emery. They made it clear after the sacking that they’d only appointed Freddie Ljungberg on an interim basis whilst that search continues.

David Ornstein suggested this week that the club are currently working through a shortlist of potential replacements, and it seems Paulo Sousa is on the list. That’s according to his representatives, anyway.

“They (Arsenal) like his profile, not just as a coach but also as a person,” Sousa’s entourage told L’Equipe (via GFFN).

“This does not mean that he will leave. They are in talks with multiple candidates but Paulo is part of that list, certainly. Between the two, it could work.

“But with all the problems currently ongoing at Bordeaux, why wouldn’t he leave? The project is not what was promised to him, that is a fact. He loves the fans but he needs more from the board, the team is not strong enough to finish in the top 6.”

Currently, Sousa does actually have Bordeaux in the top six as well as in the Round of 16 of the Coupe de la Ligue. They sit fifth in Ligue 1, just a couple of points behind Lille in third place. The problem is that the table is very congested in the middle.

Bordeaux are only five points above 15th, and they could easily plummet down with a couple of poor results. Clearly, Sousa’s entourage don’t have much faith in the squad to maintain their current results.

GFFN add that Director of Football Eduardo Macia claims Arsenal haven’t contacted them over their interest in the manager. Whether that means a great deal in these early stages of the process is up for debate.