Premier League giants Arsenal arereportedly considering OGC Nice manager Lucien Favre as a possible successor to current boss Arsenal Wenger.
According to French outlet L’Equipe, Lucien Favre is just one of the potential candidates that have been shortlisted by the Arsenal hierarchy as they continue their hunt for a replacement for the 68-year-old Arsene Wenger, who has been at the helm for over 21 years.
The report insists that Wenger’s immediate future at the club is shrouded in uncertainty, despite having a season left on his current contract, before adding that should the club be able to replace him in the summer, it could be from one of the candidates in the aforementioned shortlist.
Over the course of recent seasons, results have not been favourable for the club. The Gunners failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years last season and demands of ‘Wenger Out’ have been growing among a vast number of the Gunners’ fan base.
Currently, Arsenal are placed 6th in the league and are on course to finish the season without any silverware, unless they clinch the Europa League title. Since the last time they won the league title in 2004, they have only gone on to win 4 FA Cups and 4 Community Shield titles.
While Arsenal have been constantly stuck by their manager during their difficult trophyless spell, it seems as if they are ready to usher in a new era at the club. Lucien Favre, now 60, has also courted interest from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
He has been the manager of OGC Nice for the past two seasons and over the course of his 27-year managerial career he has managed the likes of Hertha BSC and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Favre started his career in his native Switzerland, where he spent 16 years winning titles and promotions with 4 different clubs. His greatest triumph would be leading FC Zurich to the Swiss Super League in the 2005-06 season after 21 years and managing to retain the title the following season.
His impressive exploits with Hertha BSC and Borussia Monchengladbach won him 4 German Manager Of The Year awards and he has played an extremely important role in developing young talent like Marco Reus, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Christoph Kramer and Arsenal’s own Granit Xhaka.
After joining OGC Nice in the summer of 2016, Favre led the French to a superb third-place finish on the table and won the Ligue 1 manager of the season. His eye for detail, tactical brilliance and ability to get the best out of his men helped Nice challenge for the title for a large part of the season.
Favre’s teams have always played fast, attractive and attacking football. He isn’t one to stick to a particular formation and has dabbled with 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formations with Nice. Once a gifted playmaker himself, Favre is also known to be a bit of an eccentric.
While he hasn’t managed a club of Arsenal’s stature and resources before, this could be the right time to make the step up in his career. His achievements and record speak for themselves and they certainly warrant strong consideration from the Arsenal board.
It remains to be seen how many other candidates are present on Arsenal’s shortlist of candidates and whether Favre is the one that takes over from Arsene Wenger in the summer.
