Massimiliano Allegri or Carlo Ancelotti can be quick fixes for Arsenal if they look to go down that route, says Lee Dixon, with Stan Kroenke needing to decide what the club’s long-term strategy is.
The Gunners find themselves at another crossroads after parting company with Unai Emery.
A calculated gamble on the Spaniard as a successor to the legendary Arsene Wenger failed to pay off, with the north London giants needing to get their next appointment right.
The list of mooted candidates includes plenty of Premier League experience, in the likes of Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino, along with future potential, as Mikel Arteta, Patrick Vieira and Nuno come into the mix.
If the Gunners decide to go European again, then former Juventus boss Allegri and ex-Chelsea chief Ancelotti could be in the frame.
Dixon believes either of the Italians would be suitable options, given their respective CVs, but is intrigued to discover what Kroenke's plans are for a team that is considered to have underachieved under his ownership.
The former Arsenal defender told Premier League Productions: “Where does he see the club going? Does he just look at balance sheets?
“Is he integral to the fabric of the club about how they play, what they play, what they produce, what the academy’s like? I don’t know those answers.
“So if he came out and said ‘Right, this is what we want to do with this football club’ - but we don’t hear from him, we don’t hear what the strategy long term is.
“If he’s just developing a cash cow in order to have something to be able to get money out and have his thing there, because he’s obviously now in complete control of the club from the top, then that’s it.
“If he comes out and says ‘No actually, we want a project, we want to bring Patrick Vieira in, we want to go Arsenal orientated, old school, he knows the club, and we want to build the academy and build this amazing football club’ then go down that road.
“If he wants a quick fix then he’s going to have to go for somebody like an Allegri or somebody who can come in, or an Ancelotti, and go ‘Right, we’ve fixed it for now, we’ll get into the Champions League’, but the long-term view of the club is all down to the owner.”
Arsenal are currently working under the interim guidance of Freddie Ljungberg, with the Swede’s first game at the helm having delivered a 2-2 draw away at Norwich.