What’s The Matter With … Arsene Wenger over David Moyes?

David Moyes is fast approaching 11 years in charge of Everton, but there is a strong possibility that this will be his final campaign in charge.

Moyes is expected to wait until the end of the season before making a firm decision on his future and having previously been linked with Chelsea, firmer reports in recent days have labelled him the favourite to replace Arsene Wenger.

Moyes is favourite at 8/1 to be the next Arsenal manager.

It is widely accepted that Moyes has done a remarkable job on a shoestring budget at Everton, finishing in the top eight of the Premier League in seven of the last eight seasons.

This would make him an obvious candidate to work within the confines of the financial fair play laws and an ideal replacement for Wenger for the Arsenal board.

However, what should not be forgotten is that Moyes has spent nigh on £150m in his time at Everton, which does not really constitute working on a shoestring, even if some players left for big bucks to support this spending.

Furthermore, his main success has come in recruiting players in the £2m-£4m budgets, with value for money clearly gained from the likes of Tim Howard, Joleon Lescott and Tim Cahill.

What is noted is that Marouane Fellaini aside, many of Moyes’ more expensive purchases have not lived up to their price tags and in a decade he has still not found a real leading striker.

James Beattie, Andy Johnson, Yakubu and Kevin Miralles were all not cheap, but have not helped Everton improve. They have been consistently between fifth and eighth in this period.

Arsenal have been similar to Everton in the last eight seasons. They have won no trophies and have maintained their own consistency in finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League routinely.

Take away the last 18 months when Wenger has spent a shade more than £100m, Arsenal’s overall spending since Moyes took over at Goodison has been largely the same.

Therefore, it is slightly baffling why Moyes has such a high reputation in the game even though he has spent a fair sum of money, not won a single trophy and failed to improve on finishing in the upper mid table, especially since taking fourth 2005.

If Arsenal decide that the time is right to replace Wenger is now then that is their decision, but Moyes does not seem the answer if the glory days are to return to the club.

Next Arsenal manager betting
David Moyes 8/1
Michael Laudrup 10/1
Laurent Blanc 12/1
Jose Mourinho 14/1
Pep Guardiola 16/1
Remi Garde 16/1

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.