The pearl-clutching over Jose Mourinho is tiresome, even if he sucks as a person

You people honestly disgust me.

For the last 18 months, all I’ve heard is how bad Unai Emery is at Arsenal, how he is limited as a coach, how he can’t win in the league, and how he’s in over his head at the club. I don’t disagree with any of that, and I want the guy out today if possible. I wanted the guy out a long, long time ago. He sucks and he’s largely failed at Arsenal because not only does not not win consistently, he also plays the dullest imaginable style since the days of Bruce Rioch.

But today, my concerns are centered on you, the readers, the commenters, and the online presence of a lot of you.

Unai Emery has largely failed at Arsenal because he hasn’t won with any sort of regular frequency, because he’s terrible. As we know. But the *exact fucking moment* this club is linked with a better manager (who’s the world’s biggest asshole, mind), you all lose your shit like you’re suddenly in a position to be picky about the type of better, more talented manager the club should be hiring. The hypocrisy of complaining about winning and wanting someone else in and then immediately thumbing your noses at the first guy mentioned – who, again, is a superior manager to the one we have in – reeks of looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Before I continue, let me state that I hate Jose Mourinho with the energy of a million suns and that goes for anyone associated with him – pets included. But let’s knock off the belief that he would be dragging this club backwards more than the current guy in the spot. He’s won everywhere he’s gone, every league, domestic cup, and European cup competition he’s been in, and would immediately breathe new life into a squad that is made up of players that are designed to play *exactly* how he wants his teams to function on the pitch. He’d make Arsenal a tougher opponent to set up against while utilizing the skillsets that turned tricky wingers like Nicolas Pepe into 72 million pound superstars. The investments made in the squad have been let down by Emery, and it’s unfathomable to believe a guy like Mourinho would make them worse.

But let me be completely honest and tell you my biggest concern about today’s speculation and ensuing reaction.

This isn’t about Jose Mourinho. This is about you.

Unai Emery isn’t long for the job at Arsenal. He’s certainly not going to pull a similar tenure that his decorated predecessor did. We’re going to eventually be on the hunt for a new boss – God willing, this week and no later than – and we’re going to be inundated with your opinions both on and offline about all the candidates once again.

Chances are that Arsenal will not hire the guy you want them to. But it is safe to assume they will hire a guy who will be better and more effective than the current moron on the bench. Today’s gnashing of teeth and lips and fingers and emotions was about as clear and transparent of a look forward to how the next search will be and how the next boss will be treated. Today was about overreacting despite the tiniest of details emerging from vague, unknown sources.

We need a goddamn winner in, and we need a goddamn winner in now. I don’t care if I hate the guy in charge. I don’t care if his style bores me to tears. I don’t care if the guy in charge got into many a memorable scraps with Arsene Wenger. I don’t even care if the guy in charge sent photos of his penis to my wife (well, maybe I would, but at this point I value a competitive and winning Arsenal team as much as my marriage).

The question I’m asking, that you should be asking, that I hope the club is asking, is: Can Jose Mourinho make this Arsenal team better?

I think you all know the answer to that. This isn’t rocket science.