Is this the man to save Arsenal from Wenger?

Arsenal may have won the Italian battle, but the war has just begun.

And what was once considered sacrilege at the Emirates is now moving from a whisper to audible mutterings.

Is it time for Arsene Wenger to go?

Not only is the ‘In Arsene we trust’ motto being stamped out, the name of a successor is making the rounds as well.

A loss to Manchester United on Sunday may well be the final straw for Wenger.

And it is Rémi Garde new Lyons manager that is being talked about as a possible replacement.

Garde knows Arsenal and Wenger only too well.

As a player, Garde was one of Arsène Wenger's first two recruits for Arsenal in 1996. Patrick Vieira was the other. Garde, despite being a fringe player - he started just 28 first-team games in three years - was a key part in Wenger's adaptation to the Premier League .

Now the media in general and the Independent in particular is speculating that Garde's spell at Lyons will act almost as an audition for a crack at the Arsenal job, with the post-Wenger era no longer looking an unthinkable prospect.

Inlike Wenger, Garde is convinced of the value of experience, giving back the Lyon captaincy to 33-year-old Cris and advocating the retention of Brazil's Michel Bastos.

Like many an overnight success, Garde's rise is the culmination of years of hard work and careful planning. Those who know him would not back against it taking him further still.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.