Premier League 2018-19: 5 managers who could replace Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea

#4 Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger is currently without a club

Wenger may seem a ridiculous option at first choice, due to his two-decade association with Chelsea's great London rivals Arsenal. But as ludicrous as it may sound, Chelsea should consider him, even though last major honour was over 15 years ago (With all due respect to the FA Cup).

Dismissing the 68-year-old at first glance would be to ignore a fundamental aspect of Wenger’s last decade at Arsenal, which was the financial restriction placed on the club’s recruitment based on the huge expenses to build the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger did not have access to top quality players, as the club was not financially buoyant to remain competitive in the market with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City for the best talent, so he instead had to devise a model whereby the club’s extensive scouting system sought out budding talent on the cheap across Europe, then bred them into superstars and sold them off for a healthy profit.

This model, even though it did not translate into on-field success, was extremely useful for the club’s finances, and ensured Arsenal steadily posted profits, which is an increasingly rare occurrence for big clubs today.

That Wenger was still able to achieve some modicum of success and ensure the club still qualified for the Champions League despite having such inferior players is a testament to his managerial abilities.

Wenger is one of the most innovative managers tactically in the history of the game, and his records with Arsenal in the earlier part of his tenure when he had the privilege of coaching some of the best players in the world speaks for itself.

At Chelsea, Arsene would be in charge of some a team of players with a lot of talent, so his tactical nous should be able to get the best out of them, while he also possesses the requisite man management skills to tame the egos in the Chelsea dressing room, as when it comes to man management, there are not many managers in world football better than Wenger, who has a history of building teams and an identity for them, from scratch.

Moreover, the next appointment at Chelsea could be a short fix, a short-term appointment in a caretaker capacity to oversee the managerial affairs of the club until the end of the season, when they go for their preferred option, and it is difficult to see beyond Wenger for a perfect fit for this role (although this could be a snag due to his history of long term commitments)..