Sven Mislintat Reportedly 'Championing' Zeljko Buvac as Next Arsenal Manager

Sven Mislintat is reportedly "championing" Liverpool assistant Zeljko Buvac as Arsenal's next manager.

Mislintat, the Gunners' head of recruitment, wants Buvac to replace outgoing boss Arsene Wenger "as soon as possible after the season closes," per Sky Sports News. 

It's Mislintat's desire to have the man with whom he worked at Borussia Dortmund integrate into a new "three-man structure incorporating himself, Buvac as head coach and Raul Sanllehi, Arsenal's head of football relations."

Such a structure would represent a radical departure from the Wenger-centric model Arsenal have operated in for over two decades. Buvac would also be a risky hire given his many years spent as an assistant with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

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The pair worked together at Anfield, Dortmund and Mainz, but 56-year-old Buvac has not handled the No. 1 role since he managed SC Neukirchen from 1998 to 2001.

Even so, Andrew Gibney of Football Whispers believes Buvac could be the right choice for the Gunners:

Meanwhile, Eurosport UK's Tom Adams credited Buvac with helping to shape the dynamic and intense brand of attacking football Klopp has used to great success with Dortmund and Liverpool:

"A co-architect of Klopp's distinctive counter-pressing style, [Buvac] is known to obsess over the distances between different components of the team, ensuring that passes are made precisely and powerfully, a defining feature of the Klopp system. Buvac also used to take an active part in training. At pre-season camps with Dortmund, he would instruct players to undertake sprinting drills with the ball for 45 minutes—and join in himself."

Yet despite any credentials, there are doubts about what Buvac's role would be should he move to Arsenal.

Rumours he is bound for north London began when Bosnian source Pravda BL (h/t Sport Witness) reported on Tuesday Buvac will succeed Wenger in the summer after leaving his position at Liverpool.

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The Anfield club confirmed on Monday Buvac had taken leave of his role, per James Dale of Sky Sports. However, the Reds still believe he will return, according to Sky Sports News.

If he does sever ties with Klopp, Buvac could move to Arsenal to join the coaching staff rather than head it, per Matt Hughes of The Times.

Hiring somebody of Buvac's experience as an assistant to aid Wenger's replacement would make sense, especially since the Gunners are keen on hiring a younger manager, according to Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph.

Alternatively, a man who has spent most of his career as a deputy may be more amenable to ceding some degree of power and responsibility the way Mislintat expects Wenger's replacement to do.

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Appointing Buvac would be a brave call, but Arsenal's two most recent signings, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, know him well from their time at Dortmund.

If Buvac could get the best out of this gifted pair, the Gunners' post-Wenger transition would likely go smoother than expected.