I wrote a couple of days ago that the man to turn Arsenal’s fortunes around is Jose Mourinho. If you read the comments section, you will see the vast majority of replies (I think all of them actually) were negative.

Now, he’s emerging as the favourite to replace Unai Emery.

Should you just call me Mystic Mike from now on?

In a nutshell, here are the reasons why Jose Mourinho would thrive at Arsenal and bring us success (and a guaranteed Top 4 finish):

• Proven winner
• Excellent man-manager
• Is tactically astute
• Gets the best out of players
• Will get the best out of Mesut Özil
• Can coach defence

He’s available, has roots in London and can start straight away.

So what are Arsenal waiting for?

Fans who have concerns about his temperament have been watching Arsene Wenger far too long to realise there is more than one approach. Yes, Mourinho can be confrontational but he has also been proven to rally the troops, get the team together and give them that siege mentality, and most importantly believe that winning is actually important.

The last point is something that has been lost over the last 10 years, and it wouldn’t do us any harm at all to have a squad that actually values winning. How often have we been called mentally weak? How many times have we been told we don’t have any leaders?

Jose Mourinho, whatever you think of him, is a born winner.

Look at his first stint at Chelsea. That team was immense. Look at Porto – he won the UEFA Cup and Champions League with them against the odds. Look at Inter Milan – most of their squad cried when he left.

When he gets it right, Jose Mourinho is the best out there, and for me he is better than Pep Guardiola.

Mourinho has won the Champions League twice, both times with teams who were nowhere near being favourites in that competition. He’s won countless titles and has a more impressive trophy haul than Guardiola.

Guardiola has been at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City – all of whom have had the most money and the most talented players. There’s no doubt he’s a talented coach, but he’s had far more resources and help along the way.

Mourinho has a track record of winning with any team, with any budget and with any personnel.

If the Arsenal board have any real ambition, they will seize the moment and bring in Jose Mourinho before the chance is gone.

What is going on at Arsenal?

We’ve known Laurent Koscielny was leaving Arsenal a long time ago so Unai Emery has had a lot of time to think about who should be Arsenal’s next captain.

This whole thing has just become a joke in the footballing world, when earlier this week it was revealed that Unai Emery held a vote to see who the Arsenal players wanted as the next captain.

And then it was announced that we were going to have 5 captains?!

We’ve struggled with our performances and results this season, so the last thing Arsenal fans want is a manager who is indecisive and can’t even make a fundamental decision of picking the captain of his team.

As this week progressed, reports emerged that Rob Holding was the man who had the most votes, something the vast majority of Arsenal fans were more than happy with.

But then, the news came through… Granit Xhaka, a man who makes mistakes on a regular basis and brings nothing to the team, was selected as Arsenal’s new captain.

WTF?

This is a man who brings nothing to the team. He can’t tackle, he can’t defend, he’s lost the ability to do the only thing he was good at – spray the ball across the pitch… it’s all a but of a joke.

There are about 5 players who I could name who would be FAR better choices as Arsenal captain.

The first being Rob Holding – a young, dedicated player who is consistent and can lead by example. We have Aubameyang, a player who has single-handedly carried Arsenal for most of this season and last, a player who gives 110% and more importantly – is a regular starter. Lacazette has passion and can lead by example, Hector Bellerin is also a strong candidate and then we have someone like Sokratis who is another player who gives 110% and consistently puts in good performances.

The problem I have with Granit Xhaka being captain is that it effectively means he can’t be dropped – when most Arsenal fans realise that he is the main reason we haven’t been performing.

To be a good defensive midfielder, you need several qualities. You either need to be quick and have the vision to intercept balls (like Kante), big strong and good in the tackle (like Matic) or have great positional sense and leadership qualities (like Roy Keane). Sadly for us, Xhaka has none of those abilities and if anything, is a liability.

For me, this is bad, bad news and could be the downfall of Arsenal this season (in terms of having hopes of finishing in the Top Four) and could also be the beginning of the end for Unai Emery’s reign at Arsenal.