Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has not ruled out a potential stint managing Arsenal in the future after he departs Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese coach recently signed a new 4-year contract with the Blues, which would theoretically keep him at Chelsea until 2019.
After the Premier League champions’ poor start to the new season, Mourinho’s future has surprisingly been questioned.
And at the GQ Man of the Year Awards on Sunday, Mourinho reportedly told Arsenal fan and journalist Piers Morgan that he would not rule out managing the club.
Let me put it like this: One day I will leave Chelsea and when I do I will continue living in London.
There are a number of other opportunities for a manager in London – Fulham, QPR, West Ham, Spurs, the England national team… and Arsenal.
After ruling out a move to a non-Champions League side, Mourinho continued the hints.
We are left with two options, yes? Arsenal and the England national team.
Current Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has a bitter relationship with Mourinho. This reached its apex when the two coaches almost came to blows in Chelsea’s home game against the Gunners last season. Mourinho previously called the longtime Gunners coach a ‘specialist in failure’ during a news conference, and the pair did not shake hands during this year’s Community Shield in which Wenger achieved his first win over Mourinho.
Wenger’s contract expires in 2017, by which he would’ve managed Arsenal for 21 years. In the latter part of his reign, many Arsenal’s fans have been agitated by the club’s lack of league or European success and many have called for him to leave.
Mourinho would certainly be a worthy successor to Wenger, his winning pedigree is unrivalled in modern football. He has won eight league titles, two Champions Leagues, and seven domestic cups in his 15-year managerial career, in which he has managed the likes of Inter, Porto, Benfica, Real Madrid and Chelsea twice.
It is unknown whether Wenger will extend his current contract beyond its expiry, but a number of names have been suggested as a successor before Jose Mourinho. Some of these managers include Joachim Low, Carlo Ancelotti, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
