Ray Parlour shared that he thought Rafa Benitez had done a brilliant job at Newcastle United before commenting on how Arsene Wenger would cope as manager of the Magpies.
The former Arsenal midfielder delivered his verdict on the Spanish manager before suggesting that even Wenger would struggle in the same ways Benitez had at St James Park.
Parlour highlighted that in his opinion the Magpies hadn’t got the players they needed and implied that success was all about having the right footballers to call upon.
“The best news for Newcastle would be, not even talking about managers, but selling the club and let someone else have a go,” said the former Premier League star on talkSPORT (Wednesday October 17, 16:50).
“It looks like where are they going Newcastle United at the moment? If they come fourth from bottom is that good enough?
“It’d be a great club to buy, I think he’s (Benitez has done) a brilliant job maybe Arsene Wenger would even struggle like Benitez at club.
“You haven’t got the players, it’s all about the players.”
OPINION
Parlour was engaging in a discussion about where his former manager Wenger would end up and the idea of him succeeding Benitez was mentioned. The experienced Premier League boss had recently shared he was plotting his return to management and would start a new job in January, as reported by Sky Sports, but made no mention of which club he expected to arrive at. So of course is only natural to imagine how Wenger would cope at several different Premier League sides, however it seems very unlikely he will ever arrive at St James Park even if Benitez departed. While it’s debatable about whether Parlour is right to suggest Wenger would struggle at the Magpies, it should be debatable about whether the Frenchman would contemplate working for Mike Ashley. As long as the businessman owns the Magpies it’s hard to see a prestigious manager such as Wenger jump at the chance to manage the club as he no doubt has tons of offers and will know that if Benitez finally loses patience then the club are lost cause, until Ashley is replaced.
