Ray Parlour believes it’s good evening and good night for Unai Emery for Arsenal, telling talkSPORT the Spanish boss should be sacked TODAY.
Emery is on the brink after his Gunners side were beaten 2-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League to go SEVEN games without a win.
It’s their worst run of results since 1992 when George Graham was manager. Arsene Wenger never oversaw such a run during his 22 years in charge.
Supporters have fully turned on their boss and let their opinion known by staying away from Thursday’s game, with the Emirates Stadium eerily empty with the lowest match-day attendance in the history of a stadium that opened in 2006.
Arsenal’s recent form and performances – they led another lead slip to lose against Frankfurt – has even led club legend Martin Keown to claim they could be relegated if Emery remains in charge.
And now Parlour, who previously thought Arsenal would stick with the boss until the end of the season, believes Emery’s time is up and he’ll be gone before their next game against Norwich this weekend.
And he wants former team-mate and Gunners legend Patrick Vieira to take over the job, saying he would bring the same boost to Arsenal as Frank Lampard has at London rivals Chelsea.
“Before Sunday I don’t think he’ll be there, I think they really have to make that big decision,” Parlour said on Friday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.
“[Technical director and former player] Edu and the guys who are going to make that big decision have got to ask, has he lost the dressing room?
“I’m not there on a daily basis, but they are and they see what’s going on around the club. If he’s lost the dressing room they’ve got to make a decision TODAY.
“They’ll have to go with Freddie Ljungberg for the moment, but I’m sure behind the scenes they’ll be sounding a few people out.
“The Wolves manager [Nuno Espírito Santo] has been mentioned as has [sacked Tottenham boss Mauricio] Pochettino, but I’ve always said Patrick Viera.
“Of course it’s a gamble, it’s a massive gamble, but every manager is a gamble. How did Pep Guardiola start his career, how did Jurgen Klopp? You need that lucky break sometimes.
“I know for a fact it would be like Frank Lampard at Chelsea – players respect Patrick, he’s been at the club and fans would give him a chance.
Vieira has been in charge of Ligue 1 club Nice since 2018, but is reportedly also wanted by David Beckham at new MLS club Inter Miami
“Mikel Arteta has been mentioned, but he’s in a great situation. He’s working with fantastic players at Manchester City and they’ve got a great chance of winning lost more trophies. It’s whether he wants that pressure on himself and thinks ‘I’ve got to give it a crack’.
“Arsenal is a hard job to turn down, they can only get better at the moment and any manager coming in has got to put their stamp on the team.
“Whether Emery will get a chance, whether he’ll get the next two games against Norwich and Brighton and then they assess the situation, we’ll have to wait and see.”
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