Exclusive: Celtic legends back Brendan Rodgers to take over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will be a leading contender to take over at Arsenal and Chelsea this summer, according to the club’s former strikers Chris Sutton and John Hartson.

Rodgers is believed to be on a shortlist of candidates to replace Wenger after it was confirmed the Frenchman’s enduring reign as Gunners boss will end this summer and while Rodgers politely distanced himself from a move to Arsenal after Celtic’s surprise defeat against Hibernian on Saturday, the tactician sacked by Liverpool in October 2015 is back at the top of hit-lists for the game’s top jobs after a run of success at Celtic.

Rodgers is edging towards another season of domestic dominant in Scottish football, with the League Cup already in the Parkhead trophy cabinet and a place next month’s Cup Final secured and the Premiership title set to be wrapped up against Rangers next weekend.

That run of trophy glory has inspired Sutton – who won a host of medals under Martin O’Neill’s guidance at Celtic – to tell the Yahoo Sport that the Celtic board need to back their managers with big transfer funds to entice him to stay in Scotland if tempting offers come his way this summer.

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“If Brendan is given money to spend at Celtic, he will probably be happy to continue and try to improve what was a disappointing season in European competitions, but an offer from the Premier League in England will always be tempting,” says BT Sport pundit Sutton.

“I can see why people link Brendan with the Arsenal or Chelsea jobs. He is a top coach and his reputation within the game confirms as much.

“You speak to people who have worked with Brendan and they have high regard for what he has done in his career and that is why the top clubs would have him on a shortlist of candidates to take their top job.”

Rodgers was sacked by Liverpool in October 2015 after a turbulent final few months at Anfield that saw the club’s owners lose faith in his abilities, while he was also shamelessly turned into a figure of ridicule among many supporters of both Liverpool and rival clubs.

Rodgers had gone from being hailed as a tactical visionary to a discredited outcast in a space of just 18 months, with his fightback always likely to begin away from the Premier League stage he came so close to conquering.

It was a cruel twist of fate for a manager who had guided Liverpool to their most credible push for the Premier League title in 25 years and now he has rebuilt his brand and his image as a winner after two stunningly successful seasons at Celtic.

“In my opinion, a few people were unnecessarily critical of Brendan in his final few months at Liverpool, but that was just a product of the way this game works now. One minute a manager is a genius, the next he is a fool. That is the way these things seem to work.”

“The reality is, he is was a slip from Steven Gerrard away from winning the Premier League title in 2014 and if he had got over the line in that title race, he would be viewed as a legend at Anfield now.

“He would be the manager that need their title winning drought, but the way the game works now, opinions can change very quickly.

“A few months later, people were questioning everything Brendan was doing and I would suggest people have short memories. He got closer to winning the title than any other Liverpool manager in the Premier League era and that was a fine achievement.

“For me, his reputation was not tarnished by the way it ended for him at Liverpool. Forget people on social media or supporters ringing up radio stations. They don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

“This is a manager who has huge respect in the game and that is why he would be linked with top jobs if they came up this summer.

“We now wait to see what happens. If he is given money to spend at Celtic, he will probably be happy to continue and try to improve what was a disappointing season in European competitions, but an offer from the Premier League in England will always be tempting.”

Rodgers has been cautious in distancing himself with a return to English football, with his decision to reject advances from his former club Swansea earlier this season evidence that he is in no rush to walk away from Celtic, yet Sutton’s former Celtic team-mate and ex-Arsenal striker Hartson admits the Rogers and not Celtic are likely to have the final say over his future.

“I don’t think it is a case of Celtic offering Brendan a huge amount of money to stay because he is in a strong enough position at the club now to decide his own destiny,” BT Sport pundit Hartson told Yahoo Sport.

“My guess is we will probably see Brendan staying at Celtic for one more year, but what will happens depends on the kind of offers that come his way.

“He is very happy at Celtic, everyone you speak to at the club say how much he enjoys it in Glasgow and his family’s seem settled up there, which is important. So although I think there might be an temptation to go to a big English club and have another go in the Premier League, I don’t think it is something that Rodgers is angling for.

“That could all change if one of the big English teams come in for him, of the Arsenal job was to come his way for example, but I hope he stays at Celtic for a little bit longer.”

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