Niko Kovac has reportedly informed Arsenal that he’s interested in becoming manager.
The Gunners relieved Unai Emery of his duties after a miserable start to the season and talks have taken place to replace interim coach Freddie Ljungberg.
Ljungberg began with a 2-2 draw away at Norwich before suffering a 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton on Thursday night, with Arsenal on their worst winless run in the league since 1977.
Brendan Rodgers, Massimiliano Allegri and Mauricio Pochettino have all been heavily linked with the vacant position and Kovac is the latest manager to emerge as a potential contender at the Emirates.
According to Goal, Kovac’s representatives have held informal discussions with Arsenal to make the club aware of the 48-year-old’s interest.
Though Kovac’s approach is being considered by Arsenal, the Croatian is not thought to be among the favourites for the position.
Kovac has been a free agent since leaving Bayern Munich by mutual consent at the beginning of November and is on the lookout for jobs in the Premier League.
The former Croatia boss was in the stands as Everton beat Chelsea this weekend, but played down speculation that he could replace Marco Silva in the hot seat at Goodison Park.
Kovac is also expected to attend Arsenal’s clash with West Ham at the London Stadium on Monday evening.
Pochettino refused to rule out the possibility of replacing Emery when directly asked about the Arsenal job last week.
‘It’s important to have a moment of calm to lower the decibels and find the energy to take on a new project, and we’ll see where that is,’ the ex-Tottenham manager told TyC Sports
‘I’m going to spend a few days here [in Rosario] with my family and friends, and then I’ll return to London.’
Martin Keown admits he never saw Ljungberg as management material after a difficult start for the Swede as caretaker boss.
‘He’s a fiercely competitive individual,’ Keown told talkSPORT about his former Arsenal team-mate.
‘I never saw him as management or a coach, he was quite an individualistic player, he did everything his own way, but that maybe helps him to be a very good manager.
‘We shouldn’t expect a magic wand because this has been a problem that’s been in the making for some time. Emery obviously inherited it and he didn’t find a solution.
‘It was about changing personnel, recruitment so you needed central defenders that wanted to defend, loved defending, they’re not there.
‘We need different midfield players. The likes of [Mesut] Ozil, if they don’t want to toe the line, they don’t want to play, for now you’ll have to upset one or two.’
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