Next Arsenal Manager Odds: Eddie Howe Heads The Betting

Betting sites make Eddie Howe the favourite to replace Mikel Arteta as Arsenal manager after he embarrassed the Spaniard on Monday night.

The Gunners arrived at St James’ Park in desperate need of three points to regain the initiative from Tottenham in the top-four race.

However, Newcastle boss Howe delivered a tactical masterclass to power his team to a 2-0 victory, dealing a hammer blow to Arsenal’s hopes of playing Champions League football next season.

Arteta signed a new three-year contract earlier this month, but UK bookmakers feel he is vulnerable after a late-season implosion. These are the leading contenders to take his job:

Eddie Howe

Bournemouth were languishing in League One when Howe took over as manager in October 2012, and it took him less than three years to lead the Cherries into the Premier League. 

He gained a reputation as an astute coach with a propensity for exciting, gung-ho football. 

Bournemouth beat the drop four times in a row, but they were finally relegated in 2020. Yet Howe - once touted as a future England manager - left the club that summer with his reputation largely intact, as he had terrible luck with injuries in his final year at the Vitality Stadium.

He waited patiently for the right opening - turning down several clubs, including Celtic - and an exciting opportunity presented itself in November 2021. Newcastle’s new Saudi owners wanted him to replace Steve Bruce as manager, and he jumped at the opportunity.

The Magpies were 19th in the Premier League table, five points adrift of safety after 11 games, when he took the reins. 

However, Howe has galvanised the squad. He certainly benefitted from the oil-rich owners splashing the cash in the January transfer window, but he has also helped the existing players reach new heights.

Victory over Arsenal on Monday night lifted Newcastle up to 12th in the table, and Howe has been nominated for Premier League Manager of the Season - along with Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Patrick Vieira and Thomas Frank -despite only taking over in January. 

He is now the 9/2 favourite on football betting sites to take over as the next permanent Arsenal manager, leaving him as the clear frontrunner if Arteta faces the axe.

Thierry Henry

The club’s leading goalscorer is the 12/1 joint second favourite in this market. However, it is fair to say that Henry has not exactly set the world alight during his managerial career.

He lasted just one year at Monaco, and he was sacked with the club sitting 19th in the table, with a record of four wins, five draws and 11 defeats from 20 games in charge. 

After that, Henry then spent two years in Montréal, winning just nine of his 29 MLS matches at the helm.

The Frenchman remains an iconic figure among Arsenal fans, but his managerial CV does not warrant landing the head coach role. 

The Gunners took a punt by naming Arteta, a novice, as their manager, and they may go for a more proven candidate if they decide to remove the Spaniard.

Christophe Galtier

Galtier could fit the bill. He is also priced at 12/1, and he has a vastly superior CV to Henry.

The Frenchman spent eight seasons with Saint-Étienne before moving to Lille in December 2017. 

They were 18th when he took the reins, but he steered them clear of relegation. The following season, Galtier guided Lille to a second-place finish.

Last year, he won the Ligue 1 title ahead of the mighty PSG. Galtier was also named Manager of the Year for a third time. 

He immediately left the club in search of a new challenge, moving to Nice, but he could find the Arsenal job too tempting to turn down if offered it.

Luis Enrique

Enrique is another elite manager on the list of potential replacements for Arteta. The Spaniard led Barcelona to the Champions League, two La Liga titles and three Copa del Rey triumphs during his time at the Nou Camp.

He is currently in charge of the Spanish national team. They were semi-finalists at the Euros last summer and then runners-up in the Nations League, so they are among the favourites for World Cup glory later this year.

Could Enrique be enticed to return to the cut and thrust of club management? 

You can find odds of 16/1 on him moving to the Emirates to take on the challenge of the Premier League, which could prove to be a popular decision among the supporters.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst

The Dutchman arrived in North London to replace Emmanuel Petit in the Arsenal midfield back in June 2001. 

He ended up winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup after evolving into a marauding left-back.

His managerial career has been impressive too. He led Feyenoord to the Eredivisie title in 2019, before he was lured to China to manage Guangzhou R&F.

That did not work out, so van Bronckhorst returned to Europe and replaced Steven Gerrard as Rangers manager in November. 

He led the Gers to the Europa League final following a famous 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig, so his stock is high right now. However, Van Bronckhorst is a 22/1 outsider to take over in north London.

The Rest

There are three other names on the list: Sol Campbell, Ralf Rangnick and Sam Allardyce. It is hard to take any of those candidates seriously.

Campbell (25/1) has had even less luck as a manager than Henry: eight wins from 30 games at Macclesfield, and just four wins in 23 matches at Southend United.

Rangnick (40/1) will take over as Austria manager, while continuing to consult for Man Utd, and Allardyce (50/1) would be more suitable if the Gunners found themselves in a relegation battle next season.