'Early Favourite' Leonardo Jardim Reportedly Keen to Replace Arsene Wenger This Summer

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim is reportedly interested in taking over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal should the veteran Frenchman finally call time on his 22-year Gunners tenure at the end of the current season.

Wenger signed a new two-year contract in May, but has come under increasing pressure once more after falling behind Arsenal's main rivals in the Premier League and an embarrassing performance in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City at the weekend.

According to The Independent, Monaco boss Jardim was lined up to replace Wenger last summer, only for the Frenchman to re-commit. But the 43-year-old, described as the 'early favourite', is an option once again and is said to be keen to take on a new challenge.

The report notes that Jardim is 'hugely admired' at Arsenal for the way he has made Monaco into one of the best teams in Europe in recent season, more so because of his focus on young players and attacking football.

Jardim, who was born in Venezuela but moved to Portugal at a young age, broke Paris Saint-Germain's stranglehold on Ligue 1 last season after guiding Monaco to their first domestic title since 1999/00. He also took the exciting team to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

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Of course, he is well known to Arsenal after masterminding a stunning aggregate victory over the Gunners in the Champions League Last 16 back in 2014/15. The principality club outclassed Arsenal to win 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and take control of the tie after the first leg, with Geoffrey Kondogbia, Anthony Martial and Yannick Carrasco among those who impressed.

Planning for the post-Wenger era, Arsenal have already undertaken changes behind the scenes this season, bringing in new Head of Recruitment Sven Mislintat from Borussia Dortmund and new Head of Football Relations Raul Sanllehi from Barcelona.