5. Pep Guardiola
The man who needs no introduction. The man who has done it all. The man who built the greatest team in the past two decades. Pep Guardiola won every single title on offer in his time at Barcelona. But it’s not only what he what he achieved, it’s how he did it which makes him one of the greatest managers in the world. Barcelona played unbelievable football which is now famously known as ‘Tiki-Taka.’ By the age of 42 and his 4th season in charge of the Catalan Giants, Guardiola decorated their trophy cabinet with three successive La Liga titles, two Spanish cups, two Champions League trophies and many more. He is quite possibly the most insightful and intelligent managers to ever grace football.
Arsenal are in need of a manager who can replace the current longest serving manager in Europe and drive the team to become the super club they so desperately want to become. In order to achieve that feat, they cannot only be successful off the pitch with huge sponsorship and TV deals, they need to be powerhouses where it matters most in the eyes of every Arsenal supporter and that is on the pitch of the stadium which Wenger has tarnished his legacy to have built. Of all the managers listed, Guardiola is 2nd youngest but more importantly he is the most successful by an extraordinary mile both as a player and coach. His contract at Bayern Munich, where he has already won every German cup with, ends at the end of the 2015-16 season. Arsene Wenger’s contract ends the season after that. Which begs the question, would Arsene Wenger retire a year early if it meant securing the services of a world class manager, thus ensuring that the long-term stability of the club are in safest hands possible? I guess it is down to Arsenal’s greatest ever manager to assure all he has built not crumble even if it means letting go of the club he loves so dearly one year early.