One of the more surprising names to be linked with the vacant Arsenal job was that of Paulo Sousa.
The Portuguese manager is currently at Bordeaux in Ligue 1, where he is doing very well with the squad at his disposal, and this good run of form allegedly made him a candidate to succeed Unai Emery at the Emirates.
During that period, it was also reported the manager had a €2-3m release clause in his contract, which made him a cheap option for Arsenal, but, according to the man himself, his future, for now, is in the south of France.
During a press conference ahead of Bordeaux’s weekend game on Sunday against Strasbourg, Sousa was asked about the speculation surrounding a move to England.
He said: “That’s normal. That’s completely normal. When you have good results, these are things that happen. I’ve been in football a long time and I know interest in managers or players when you have good results is something that goes on, especially when a club decides to make a change.
“I’m good here. I’m very focused on everything I can control. I can’t give you that answer [that he will stay until the end of the season] because I don’t know what tomorrow is made of. Tomorrow, the owner might make another decision that doesn’t involve me”.
It seems that, at least for now, Sousa doesn’t plan on leaving Bordeaux in the next few weeks, which suggests Arsenal, if he even is on their shortlist, might have to look elsewhere.
As things stand, the Ligue 1 side sit fifth in the table, two points behind Lille in third and 13 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who have a game in hand.
