Former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel has agreed to succeed Arsène Wenger at Arsenal after turning down Bayern Munich, according to reports in Germany.
In London, the 44-year-old would be re-united with former Dortmund charges Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as well as former BVB head scout Sven Mislintat, with whom Tuchel had a high-profile dispute in 2016.
German Sunday newspaper “BILD am Sonntag” reported that Tuchel had rejected an offer from German champions Bayern in a conference call with CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, president Uli Hoeness and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic on Friday, saying he had already agreed to sign for a foreign club.
Current Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes, who has always insisted he has only returned to the club on a temporary basis, had previously praised Tuchel, saying: “Thomas has the quality to manage a club like FC Bayern” and describing him as “innovative, ambitious and meticulous.”
But according to German football magazine “Kicker,” Tuchel has already put pen to paper on a deal with Arsenal – although tabloid “BILD” report Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain also remain options.
Success on the field, problems off it
Tuchel, 44, began his professional coaching career at Mainz 05 before succeeding Jürgen Klopp at Dortmund in 2015. He led the Black & Yellows to two top-four Bundesliga finishes and won the German cup after succeeding Jürgen Klopp in 2015.
Having averaged 2.09 points per league game, Tuchel is statistically the most successful Dortmund manager in history but, coming directly after the aggressive, emotional, high-energy style of Jürgen Klopp, many supporters struggled to identify with Tuchel’s more calculated, possession-based football.
The players too sometimes struggled to follow Tuchel’s complicated tactical instructions, sometimes involving three or four changes of formation per game. After a defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in November 2016, Tuchel accused his players of being “technically, tactically and mentally deficient.”
Tuchel also had a high-profile falling out with head scout Sven Mislintat, who began work at Arsenal earlier this year.
According to Kicker, Mislintat has assured Arsenal that he would have no problem working with Tuchel again and that the club would always come first.
Bus attack
Tuchel’s relationship with CEO Watzke ultimately broke down in the wake of the attack on their team bus ahead of the Champions League game against Monaco last season, when the team was forced to play the match just 24 hours later.
“I was sat on that bus,” testified Tuchel at the trial of accused bus attacker Sergei W. this week, “Aki [Watzke] wasn’t.”
