Guillem Balague: Next Arsenal manager should not be this man
By Danny Wright
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague claims that Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is not the man to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
A vocal group of Arsenal supporters have been calling for Wenger to leave the club at the end of the season after being in charge for 21 years. His current contract is due to run out in the summer.
Balague, answering questions in his column on the Sky Sports website, says that Simeone would not be able to continue the legacy which Wenger has built at the Emirates.
“I don’t understand why Arsenal fans are so excited about the prospect of Simeone when he doesn’t represent the style of the club at all,” said Balague.
“He just doesn’t fit what Arsenal is about,” Balague added.
Simeone has been manager of Atletico Madrid since 2011 and has built them up to be worthy adversaries of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
He has been known to set teams up to be solid defensively and hard to beat – the polar opposite of Wenger’s fluid, attacking style at Arsenal.
“Arsene Wenger has to decide his own future with a two-year contract still on the table but a style has been built at Arsenal,” said Balague.
“Not a very efficient style if you consider their success in terms of titles but a style is in place. Simeone doesn’t represent that style in any way.”
The Argentine has taken Atletico to two Champions League finals in his time at the club, but has been on the losing side each time.
However he has also bought a lot of success to the club. He lifted the 2013/14 La Liga, the 2012/13 Copa Del Rey and has been named La Liga Coach of the Year on three occasions.
Arsenal are without a Premier League title since 2004 and look to have already lost out in this season’s title race.
In other Arsenal news, this recruitment guru insists this Arsenal star is attainable.
We’ve launched an << EXCLUSIVE TRANSFER WINDOW NEWS FEED>>. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Arsenal transfer news.