Former Scotland international and Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has reacted with astonishment at Brendan Rodgers being linked with succeeding Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

Wenger is under pressure at the Emirates Stadium following Arsenal's meek EFL Cup final defeat against Manchester City, while they are also facing an uphill battle to finish in the Premier League's top four.




He has a contract until the summer of 2019, but it is increasingly being speculated he could part ways with the Gunners in the summer.

Rodgers has been linked with leaving Celtic to answer Arsenal's call, while the betting also includes contenders such as Mikel Arteta, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, along with experienced managers Joachim Low, Leonardo Jardim, Thomas Tuchel and Diego Simeone.
 


Rodgers has Premier League experience from his time in charge of Liverpool and led the Reds to a second place finish in the standings before the wheels came off and he was sacked by the club in October 2015.

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A move to Arsenal would see the Northern Irishman go up against his former club in the Premier League, but Liverpool legend Nicol, who won 27 caps for Scotland and managed New England Revolution in the MLS, reacted with shock when Rodgers was suggested as a potential successor to Wenger on ESPN FC.

And the 56-year-old believes many of those being put forward as contenders have no business being in the running for the Arsenal job.

"Why would Brendan Rodgers be able to take Arsenal anywhere?" he said in astonishment.

"I don't understand where half of these names are coming from.

"Patrick Vieira, let's be honest, he's had three years in MLS, what does Patrick know about coaching in the Champions League or anything like that.

"I just don't see half of those names [in the betting] being capable [of replacing Wenger]", Nicol added.

Rodgers has enjoyed big success at Celtic since taking over at Parkhead, winning the domestic treble with the Bhoys last term, while he is on course to repeat the trick in the current campaign.