The recently sacked Tottenham boss probably won’t be interested in taking charge of the Gunners, according to the former Spurs midfielder
Mauricio Pochettino’s “stock is far too high” for him to end up in charge at Arsenal, according to Jermaine Jenas, who thinks the ex-Tottenham boss will instead be eyeing roles at Manchester Utd, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
The Argentine is on the lookout for his next job in management after being sacked by Spurs on November 21.
Pochettino was relieved of his duties after Tottenham’s disastrous start to the 2019-20 campaign, which saw them slip to 14th in the Premier League table after 12 fixtures.
The 47-year-old came out to publicly thank Spurs supporters and chairman Daniel Levy earlier this week, with Jose Mourinho now charged with the difficult task of turning around fortunes in his stead.
Pochettino is not expected to be out of work for long, considering how he managed to transform Tottenham into Champions League finalists and title contenders in his five-and-a-half years at the helm.
He has been linked with a number of high profile posts since leaving north London, including at Arsenal, who relieved Unai Emery of his managerial duties on Friday.
Jenas, who played for Tottenham between 2005 and 2013, doesn’t think Pochettino will end up joining the Gunners, however, with a number of more attractive options available to him if he bides his time.
“Arsenal is a huge football club and the wages would be great for Mauricio, but putting myself in his shoes, I think his stock will be far higher than that,” Jenas told BT Sport.
“The job that he did at Tottenham puts him in a different bracket.
“If I was Mauricio I’d have six months off to recuperate after working non stop for six years at Spurs. Come to the end of the season there’s a good chance that Man United, Bayern Munich and Madrid might ring.
“I know he mentioned he wouldn’t go to Barcelona because of his Espanyol links, but there are a lot of huge clubs out there I think he can go to.
“The Arsenal job isn’t one that is that attractive to anyone right now.”
Jenas added on Emery’s sacking at the Emirates: “The decision they’ve taken feels like a knee jerk reaction, there doesn’t seem to be any real planning behind what they’re doing.
“Are they just going to throw a load of names in the hat and go: ‘Is it [Massimiliano] Allegri, is it Pochettino, is it [Carlos] Ancelotti’.
“That’s what it feels like at the moment.”
Emery’s assistant Freddie Ljungberg has been installed as Arsenal’s interim manager, with some suggestion that he could be considered for a permanent role if he can oversee a swift revival.
Up next for the Gunners is a trip to Norwich on Sunday, before they welcome Brighton to the Emirates four days later.