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20th Apr, 2018 | 3:30pm

Merson delivers verdict on Rogers at Arsenal as Celtic say they won't stop him joining Gunners

Paul Merson reckons that Brendan Rodgers fits the bill as talk continues to grow suggesting that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers could be the man to take over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

The Gunners boss announced that he would be stepping down from the role at the end of the season as a new era at the Emirates beckons.

There has been speculation for some time that the Northern Irishman would be one of the front-runners in North London should the Gunners hotseat become vacant and now that a change is imminent, talk is growing of a move south for the Celtic head-honcho.

Majority shareholder Dermot Desmond has already said that he would not stand in Rodgers’ way if the Gunners did come calling and Charlie Nicholas has also said that the 45-year-old has been “breathtakingly good” at Celtic Park and would fit in at the North London club.

Now Merson too has offered his thoughts on the former Liverpool manager, as quoted in The Scottish Sun the ex-winger said: “I like Brendan Rodgers. I think he ticks the boxes.

“He was at Liverpool, people go ‘Oh, he had Suarez’. He still had to get a tune out Suarez while he was there.

“They’ve never been nearer to winning the league in the last so many years.

“One, he’s managed a massive club in Liverpool. Now he manages a club that has a cup final every weekend.

“He has to get those players up for whoever they play and he plays exactly the same way as Arsenal.

“I think he ticks all the boxes for Arsenal, I really do.”

Football Insider verdict:

It’s clear that Rodgers would be a popular choice – at least amongst pundits. But Rodgers has been in the Scottish Premiership for almost three years and needs to be back in the Premier League before taking on a job as big as the Gunners. Yes, he has plenty of experience of winning trophies at Celtic Park but Arsenal need someone who can hit the ground running otherwise there’s a very real possibility of a conveyor belt effect happening upon the Emirates if they don’t get the right candidate the first time around.

In other Celtic news, ‘FFS, wise up’, ‘Doesn’t help’ – Celtic fans react to official club statement on Rodgers.

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