Arsenal have endured a difficult campaign and the only way they can finish the season on a bright note is by winning the Europa League.
To do this, the Gunners must first overcome the 2-1 first leg deficit to beat Villarreal at the Emirates on Thursday.
In the event they fail to win the second-tier European competition, the north London club could be ‘destined to change technical leadership’, reports Calciomercato.
This would mean Mikel Arteta’s position at the club could be in danger, which is why they have they sights set on Maurizio Sarri.
The former Chelsea manager was expected to become the new AS Roma manager before losing that job to José Mourinho on Tuesday. Therefore, the Italian is now ‘forced to consider’ those projects which he was ‘initially stalling’.
The 62-year-old has asked agent Fali Ramadani to ‘listen to important calls’.
It’s claimed Arsenal are ‘particularly attentive’ to Sarri’s situation, and have made ‘new contacts’ with his entourage. That’s about the only information mentioned about the English club.
Sarri is yet to return to management after losing his job at Juventus in August 2020. His contract with the Turin club is still in place and that expires in 2022, which is why they continue to pay him his €6m annual salary.
As a part of the agreement, there is a clause that allows Juventus to pay €2.5m to terminate Sarri’s contract. This option is valid only until the end of this month.
The manager is still tied to Juve and in order to free himself to sign a contract with another club, he may be forced to ‘give up something’.