Arsenal technical director Edu has recommended former team-mate Patrick Vieira as the new Arsenal boss but still has to convince the owners he is the right man, according to journalist Duncan Castles.
Vieira, who made 279 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, is one of many managers linked with the vacant role after Unai Emery was sacked at the end of last month.
The former France international started off his coaching career as Manchester City reserve team manager before taking charge of New York City FC in 2015 before joining Ligue 1 side Nice, where he is currently boss.
And Castles claims that Vieira has been “championed” by Edu as Arsenal look to narrow down their shortlist.
“The information I have is that Vieira’s candidacy for that position is being championed by Edu, Arsenal’s technical director and obviously a former team-mate of Vieira,” Castles said on the Transfer Window Podcast.
“He played alongside Vieira in Arsenal’s last Premier League title-winning side.
“He has known him for a long period of time and is pushing the other people, on a four-man committee that the Kroenke family have tasked with drawing up a long list of candidates for the job and recommending who should be promoted to that job to them before the Kroenkes sign off on a decision.
“I think Josh Kroenke, it’s very clear that he’s going to be a part of that, a big part of that decision-making process.
“He’s now speaking on record about the sacking of Unai Emery, the several weeks they’d been considering that and considering replacements, even going as far as recommending to the interim, Freddie Ljungberg, that he fixed things by putting a smile on the face of the players again.
“Vieira’s candidacy is interesting because he’s 42 now, he’s quite experienced as a coach, he moved into coaching and development after retiring as a player, and did that with Manchester City back in 2011.
“Obviously if you’re looking for someone who understands Arsenal as a football club and has a status with the support and a kind of personality to come in and take charge of what is a very difficult at present, it’s quite hard to look beyond Vieira from that perspective. He ticks all of those boxes.
“The question mark is what level can he attain as a coach of a side with big financial resources, very significant players in their squad, a big wage bill, strong characters in the team and lots of problems to solve?”
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