Paul Merson Says Arsenal Should Spend £40 Million to Get Brendan Rodgers

Former Arsenal attacker Paul Merson has suggested the club should replace manager Unai Emery and splash out £40 million to bring in Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers. 

Merson compared the fee he proposed with the £72 million the Gunners spent in the summer to make Nicolas Pepe their record signing.

The 51-year-old made the suggestion on Sky Sports' The Debate (h/t Goal's Chris Burton) while praising Rodgers:

"I think he's one of the best in the business.

"If I was Arsenal, I would have been ringing Leicester up and saying, 'how much do you want?'

"If you're going to pay £72 million for a winger that hasn't played in the Premier League and has played in the French league, I would pay £40 million for him tomorrow morning."

However, he does not expect Emery to be relieved of his duties at the Emirates Stadium any time soon:

Merson's comments come after Rodgers' Leicester claimed a fairly comfortable 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday.

Jamie Vardy opened the scoring with Leicester playing the kind of football many Gunners supporters might like their side to play:

The win sent the Foxes second in the Premier League, nine points clear of Arsenal after 12 games as the Gunners have gotten off to their worst start since 1982-83.

Only Manchester City have scored more than Leicester's 29 goals, and Rodgers' team also have the best defence in the league with just eight conceded.

Reuters' Simon Evans wondered what the Gunners might look like with Rodgers in charge:

The northern Irishman failed to win silverware in just over three years with Liverpool, but until last season, he had come closest to delivering their first top-division title since 1990.

His Reds side were five points clear at the top of the table with three matches remaining, but a defeat to Chelsea and a draw with Crystal Palace—having been 3-0 up—cost them the title.

Rodgers then moved to Celtic, where he achieved back-to-back trebles. He won the Scottish League Cup last year, and the club completed their third treble after he left for Leicester in February.

Emery has struggled to reverse the decline Arsenal suffered in their final years under Arsene Wenger.

Although they achieved seven more points last season than they did in Wenger's final campaign, they still missed out on a top-four spot. They also had the chance to qualify for the UEFA Champions League by winning the UEFA Europa League, but they were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Chelsea in the final.

This season, they're sixth after 12 matches having shipped 17 goals in that time, and there appears to be little clear strategy week to week.

Rodgers could be a fine replacement for Emery, but he has a three-year contract at the King Power Stadium and little incentive to leave with things going so well.