Arsenal advised to break the bank for Brendan Rodgers

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has advised his former side Arsenal to break the bank for Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers.

The Gunners visit the King Power Stadium this Saturday for what could possibly be the final nail in the coffin for Unai Emery, which is to say that anything other than a win would – and should – cost the Spaniard his job.

Multiple reports have linked Jose Mourinho with the Arsenal job, with there being rumours of a meeting between Raul Sanllehi and the Portuguese. God knows what the reaction of a fanbase that virulently loathes “The Special One” would be in case he is actually appointed.

One would hope, especially the Leicester faithful, that the former Chelsea boss does get the reins at the Emirates Stadium so that the North Londoners can keep their hands and eyes off Rodgers, seeing as calls for him to be eyed as Emery’s replacement are growing.

More recently, one such call has come from Merson, who wants Arsenal to give Rodgers “a five-year contract and sit back and watch him transform the club.” Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: 

"” Leicester City have been outstanding. They have an unbelievable manager. Brendan Rodgers has improved every single player at his disposal.“He’s getting a tune out of every single player, it’s incredible. If they beat Arsenal on Saturday, they will be in the driving seat for the top four.“Rodgers has done so well that Leicester have a job on their hands keeping hold of him.“If I were Arsenal, I’d be breaking the bank to get him, give him a five-year contract and sit back and watch him transform the club.”"

Leicester Vs Arsenal is going to be some fixture. There is a solid narrative around it already, there’s a lot at stake and there’s the Foxes’ hunger to keep winning to further tighten the grip on third spot.

Normally, when a manager comes into a game to save his job, he pulls of an exceptional result before regressing to the mean. It would be a bit of an upset, to be honest.