Jose Mourinho is reportedly interested in managing Arsenal, should the Gunners relieve Unai Emery of his duties somewhat soon. Emery, while beginning his Arsenal career in the right direction, has been under pressure by the fan base since the end of last season. The club’s brass has backed their head coach, both over the summer and in recent days; however, another season trophyless and outside of the top four would surely be the final nail in the coffin for Emery.

Mourinho has made it clear in recent months that he wants to return to coaching. Over the summer he claimed to be itching to return to the sideline. ”I miss my football,” said the coach. “I have the fire, I have a compromise with myself, with people that love me, with so many fans that I have around the world, so many people that I inspired.”

Despite turning down offers from multiple clubs (most notably in Portugal and China), Mourinho would almost certainly accept a managing job from a big club. This coinciding with the fact that he is already currently residing in London, and was even at the Emirates Stadium for their Europa League clash with Vitoria last week, the Arsenal job would make sense on the surface.

Formally known as the ‘Special One,’ Mourinho has collected major trophies at all six clubs (Chelsea twice) that he has been at since 2002. Winning silverware is his forte. While this alone would put him in contention for a potential Arsenal managerial job, Mourinho also has a history of departing clubs in a negative way.

After winning the Premier League with Chelsea in 2015, the west London club finished 10th in the following season, a campaign that saw Mourinho get sacked midway through the year. At Manchester United he collected two trophies, but the Red Devils have not looked the same since their second place finish under Mourinho in the 2017/18 season.

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The Portuguese coach also has a controversial history with the Gunners and their legendary manager Arsene Wenger. The two coaches famously traded verbal jabs through press conferences for years, with Mourinho labeling Wenger a “specialist in failure.” They even had to be separated on the sideline during a 2014 match between Arsenal and Chelsea. Although Mourinho and Wenger have since publicly made up, there is still a negative connotation surrounding Mourinho with true Arsenal supporters.

Beside this rocky history, Mourinho’s style of play as a manager would be the complete antithesis of what Gooners have been crying out for since Wenger departed the club in 2018. One of the biggest gripes about Emery by Arsenal fans is the fact that he doesn’t exactly deploy a free-flowing, attractive style of play. Mourinho’s teams are basically the same.

Emery is essentially entering a make-or-break time with the Gunners. Despite the lack of attractiveness in his side’s play, winning matches will ultimately decide his fate at the club. Failure to bring Arsenal back into the top four and he will most likely be out of a job. Regardless of the Spaniard’s outcome, the team’s backroom brass should avoid bringing in the polarizing Mourinho into an already somewhat precarious situation.