Report Claims Leading Candidate for Wenger's Successor at Arsenal Has Been Offered Top National Post

Carlo Ancelotti, one of Arsenal's leading candidates to succeed Arsene Wenger as Gunners boss at the end of the season, has been offered the vacant role of head coach of the Italian national side, according to a report from the Sun. 

Amid deep fan unrest at the Emirates, Wenger announced his resignation as Arsenal boss last week, bringing an end to his 22 years in charge of the club.

Ancelotti is one of many names to be linked with the soon-to-be vacant position in north London, and the report claims that the Italian tactician is a preferred candidate. 

However, the Italian Football Federation are also keen on the former Chelsea boss and have asked him to take over as coach of the national team. 

Ancelotti has been out of football since he was sacked by Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in September following a 3-0 defeat to PSG in the Champions League. 

The Azzurri, on the other hand, have been without a manager since they sacked Gian Piero Ventura in November after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years. 

According to Sky Sports, Ancelotti held a meeting with Italian Football Federation commissioner Roberto Fabbricini and sub-commissioner Alessandro Costacurta in Rome on Monday night, and was subsequently offered a two-year contract with the national side. 

The former Real Madrid boss is yet to accept the offer and suggested only last month that he would prefer to manage a club team. 

Asked whether he would be Italy's next manager, Ancelotti replied, as quoted by the Sun: "My answer is this: the federation... must create its own new structure, after which it will make the decision. I rest of my idea, it takes first clarity, then you can think about it, even if my goal is still to train a club team."