Rafael Benitez’s leadership of Newcastle United in their return to the Premier League this season has caught the eye, after propelling the Magpies past their pre-season target of 40 points.
Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal extended Newcastle’s winning run to four matches and has led to plenty of discussions regarding the futures of both Benitez and his Gunners counterpart Arsene Wenger.
Now, speaking to TalkSport, Danny Murphy has become the latest in a list of people who believes that Benitez would be ‘perfect’ to replace Wenger at the Emirates Stadium.
“He is exactly what Arsenal need. I heard Paul Merson talking on the Sports Breakfast, saying Arsenal fans want a certain style of play and want to see a team play expansive football, but they do that now and they get murdered.”
“I only worked with him (Benitez) briefly, but he was bang on it. He was all about: ‘This is what we’re going to do and this is how we’re going to do it’. You know exactly what you’re doing.”
“He is a calm manager but he’s very assertive. You wouldn’t want to cross him, he’s got a real ruthlessness about him.”
Benitez’s future is far from assured but he’s stated he’s keen to remain on Tyneside as long as Newcastle match his ambitions this summer.
