Everton fans are demanding change this summer and could steal a march on Arsenal to appoint a replacement for Sam Allardyce.
The fact Everton have little left but pride to play for this season is an indictment on a season which promised so much but delivered little.
The Toffees have endured a topsy turvy season with Ronald Koeman axed and eventually replaced by the hugely unpopular Sam Allardyce.
The former England boss has done the job of lifting the Toffees out of the relegation zone and into what is likely to be the highest position they can finish, eighth.
But supporters are already fed up with the style of football on display at Goodison Park and Allardyce is under pressure to keep his job beyond the summer, particularly after the now infamous survey faux pas.
A host of names have been linked with replacing Allardyce in the Everton hotseat, but could they steal a march on Arsenal by moving for former fans’ favourite Mikel Arteta?
The Spaniard, currently assistant to Pep Guardiola at champions Manchester City, played over 150 games for the Toffees and knows the club inside out.
Arteta was the early favourite to replace outgoing Gunners boss Arsene Wenger with Arsenal chief Ivan Gazidis believed to favour him.
Now according to Ladbrokes, Arteta has slipped way down the pecking order to 12-1 for the Emirates post, with Juventus boss Max Allegri the new favourite.
Indeed Manchester City are not keen on Arteta joining a top six rival and The Sun reports they would not be open to interest from Arsenal.
So should Farhad Moshiri thank Allardyce for doing the job and cut all ties with the divisive pragmatist in favour of giving a first managerial chance to the highly-rated Arteta this summer?
Everton fans want to be challenging the Premier League elite and must go in a different direction both in terms of recruitment and style of play to have any chance of doing that.
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