England rugby boss Eddie Jones: ‘I’d love to coach Arsenal - how good would that be’

Arsenal fans have seen a list of high-profile names linked to Unai Emery’s job in recent weeks, among them Jose Mourinho, Luis Enrique and Brendan Rodgers.

Now comes another one and it’s the most outlandish yet - England rugby head coach Eddie Jones.

The Aussie guided England to the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup earlier this month, and although his boys fell short against South Africa it’s underlined Jones’s credentials as a “proven performer at the very highest level”.

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Those are the words of talkSPORT, who dropped the bombshell that Jones wouldn’t mind having a crack at restoring order at the “Mayhemirates”.

Ready, steady, Eddie

“I’d love to coach Arsenal,” said Jones. “How good would that be! How much fun would that be!”

Judging by their form in recent seasons, not much, as Jones realised moments later, adding: “They’ve had a few problems, haven’t they?”

Whether Jones was merely day-dreaming or launching a cunning pitch to replace Emery isn’t clear, but if the Aussie has his eyes on the Arsenal job he wouldn’t be the first top rugby coach to make the switch to football.

Clive Woodward steered England to Rugby World Cup glory in 2003 before taking a technical director role at Southampton two years later.

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Tug of war for Torreira

It looks like Lucas Torreira is entering the final few weeks of his Arsenal career, with The Sun reporting that he is wanted by AC Milan and Napoli in the January transfer window.

The Uruguayan defensive midfielder has never fully settled in London and the fact he is being deployed in an unfamiliar role as an attacking playmaker by Arsenal boss Emery has allegedly deepened his discontent.

The Sun says that the two Serie A clubs are “looking to snap him up on an 18-month loan deal” and Torreira is keen to return to Italy where he played before moving to the Emirates in the summer of 2018.

Torreira’s agent Pablo Bentancur has said recently of his client: “He is no longer at ease and we hope that things can change… clearly there is interest in him.”

Today’s back pages

‘Spurs can win the Premier League next season’, says Jose Mourinho

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