England face managerial dilemma again - unless stars align for Arsene Wenger to finally solve it ~ arsenal

Gareth Southgate will be given a four game audition to get the England job on a permanent basis.

And make no mistake, the __football Association would like nothing more than to give the job to Southgate because he would be a perfect choice who ticks all the boxes.

English, former England player, has come through the system, promoted from within and, after the Sam Allardyce scandal, comes across as whiter than whiter.

Former Middlesbrough boss Southgate will not be found getting done in an undercover newspaper sting any time soon.

Southgate has done a stellar job with the England Under-21s

But the other conundrum facing the FA is if Southgate doesn’t work in the forthcoming games against Malta, Slovenia, Scotland and Spain.

And also whether Southgate wants the job or not. There is still a worry that he is not convinced, having turned down the chance to be caretaker in the summer. Will he be on a hiding to nothing?

So there must also be a Plan B and that might just be Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger whose current contract at the Emirates expires in 2017.

Allardyce's departure has left chief exec Martin Glenn in a pickle

Gunners chief Wenger is into the final year of his Arsenal contract

The FA called Wenger last summer to try and discover his intentions before they appointed Allardyce but it did not go past first base because the Frenchman made it clear he is not leaving Arsenal.

But now does Wenger stay or go? Does he want the job? Whether Wenger fancies international management often depends on which day it is or which mood he is in.

He has given so many contradictory answers down the years.

No, he’d never manage England. An Englishman has to do that. Yes, he would be interested one day. Yes, he’d like the France job.

Wenger has offered many contradictory answers down the years

The point is that we’ll only really know if the two things are aligned. The job is available and Wenger is available.

At the moment, that is still some way off. Wenger won’t break a contract, may yet stay on and the FA in the meantime may have appointed.

Southgate does fit the bill on many levels, but will the players buy into him? That’s another question. We’ll soon find out whether he can lead a bunch of egos and big-names.

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I like Southgate, want him to succeed, nice guy. But only time will tell and these next four games whether he can really hack it.

Otherwise, the FA must decide whether to wait on Wenger or go again. And that might be a call to Steve Bruce who was interviewed in the summer but the interview came after Allardyce already thought he had the job.

It was Jurgen Klinsmann vs Allardyce last summer. Those ships appear to have sailed now. And now the bigger decision lies ahead.

Over to you, Gareth.