Our situation now and Arsenal’s situation post-Wenger are clearly very different. Arsenal’s dysfunctional ownership meant they were in a bad place by the time Wenger left. Emery never stood a chance - wrong man at the wrong time but still a great manager. Arteta, for all his flaws, has done a great job but it’s very much an ongoing rebuilding project and like us he is competing against the cheats, otherwise he could have won the league last year.
I always thought Arteta would come good. Had some great arguments with Chelsea fans who insisted that Lampard was a better manager than Arteta and would outlast him. Even though it was clear that Lampard was totally out of his depth. Idiots.
There are many routes into management. Klopp was proven quality before he joined us but Arteta shows that you don’t necessarily need to have previous experience as manager to be the right person for the job at a big club, so there’s no reason in principle why Lijnders shouldn’t be considered as an option for us.
But it’s clear that for whatever reason, the club aren’t considering him. I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t want it if offered.
Whatever happens next for him, he has been absolutely brilliant as Klopp’s no.2 and we should never forget what a vital contribution he has made to our success in recent years. I wish him all the best and hope he succeeds wherever he turns up next.
Who knows, he might even prove us wrong not to have considered him as Klopp’s replacement. Maybe he’ll even come back to take the hot seat one day.
