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Arsenal ‘make contact with Jorge Jesus’ with Mikel Arteta under pressure ahead of West Ham
ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta is currently preparing for Wednesday night's Premier League clash with West Ham.
Mikel Arteta determined to keep focus on Arsenal’s win over Southampton
Arsenal have made contact with Benfica boss Jorge Jesus, a report has surprisingly claimed. The Gunners have endured a mixed season under Mikel Arteta so far. And with the north London giants losing two of their last three matches, a managerial change may be on the cards over at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal started the season in dire form under Arteta, losing their first three Premier League matches against Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City.
However, while their form has been rocky of late, the north London giants have bounced back to climb up the table.
Over the past few weeks, talk of Arteta losing his job has quietened down.
But Portuguese website Torcedores.com claim that Arsenal have made contact with Jesus, who is currently the manager of Benfica.
It’s claimed the 67-year-old isn’t interested in staying with the Portuguese giants, with the ex-Flamengo boss instead keen to pursue a new challenge.
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That’s where Arsenal come in, with the Gunners supposedly reaching out to Jesus despite Arteta staying in his role for the time being.
Instead, Arteta is primed to be fired ‘at the end of the season’ - especially if they miss out on Champions League qualification.
The report is certainly a surprising one, especially with Jesus unproven in any of Europe’s top leagues.
And whether Arsenal can secure a place in next season’s Champions League, for the first time since 2017, remains to be seen.
Jesus took charge of Benfica for a second time in 2020, having previously them between 2009 and 2015.
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He’s also had stints at Sporting Lisbon and Flamengo in Brazil, too.
So it certainly would be a gamble if Arsenal are to bring him to the club, even with results continuing to be inconsistent under Arteta.
Arsenal are next in action against West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
And they go into that match with a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hanging over them, with the striker facing an uncertain future at the club.
Aubameyang was recently fined for a ‘discipline breach’ after returning late following a trip abroad.
Arsenal are rumoured to be considering stripping the former Borussia Dortmund star of the captaincy, though are wary of what that could do to their dressing room.
Aubameyang is a popular figure behind the scenes.
And it’ll be interesting to see if Arsenal start him up top in a match against David Moyes’ high-flying outfit.
Chris Sutton, meanwhile, thinks Arteta has to ‘come down hard’ on Aubameyang or risk having a ‘massive problem on his hands’.
"Mikel Arteta has trusted him,” Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“He knew what the agreement was and to come back the following morning was totally unacceptable.
"What surprised me in some respects is why Arteta brought this out into the public domain because he must have known what the reaction and response would be.
"If he’s made a rule up for Aubameyang and Aubameyang breaks that rule which he has done, then if he doesn’t come down hard on him, he has a massive problem on his hands.
"He should be disciplined but I still can’t work out why he brought it into the public domain. He could have made any excuses, but that suggests there is a big rift there."