What next for Arsenal?

Arsenal have come up with a shortlist for the managerial position which is due to be suddenly -- some fans would say mercifully -- vacated following Arsene Wenger's decision to move on at the end of the season after 22 years at the club.

Big-name options such as Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri and former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique are in the reckoning while former club captains Mikel Arteta -- currently an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City -- and Patrick Viera are also among the options. Arsenal's all-time leading goalscorer Thierry Henry is an outside option while 1899 Hoffenheim manager Julian Nagelsmann and Monaco's Leonardo Jardim are also being touted as potential successors to Wenger.

The dilemma that the board find themselves in now is whether they should play it somewhat safe and go for an experienced option or take a gamble on potential as they did when Wenger was brought in from Japanese outfit Nagoya Grampus in 1996.

Former Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel was thought to be in consideration for the job, but that option no longer seems feasible as the German has already turned down the Bayern Munich job due to a verbal agreement with Paris Saint-Germain.

It also emerged late on Friday that Wenger's decision to step down was the result of an ultimatum from the board. Wenger, who had a year left on his contract, was reportedly told to either resign from his position or face the sack at the end of a season.

The manager was distraught -- especially as he was seriously considering ending his time at the club after winning the FA Cup last year before being talked out of it -- and duly handed in his resignation.

The board were not keen to let Wenger leave at the end of last season because they did not have a contingency plan in place but that has changed over the course of this season as the club adopted a new structure. Arsenal have appointed Raul Sanllehi as head of football relations and Sven Mislintat as head of recruitment while head of negotiations Huss Fahmy and head of high performance Darren Burgess are all thought to be involved in the decision-making process.

However, Wenger will now not be looking to stay at the club in any capacity and will instead be seeking another job.

And he already has options, with PSG reportedly keen to bring the Frenchman on as a director of sport to lend his wealth of experience to Tuchel. Le Parisiens had attempted to lure Wenger to the Parc des Princes before and the 68-year-old has been in the club's plans for a while.

The decision Wenger must make now is whether he is ready to give up coaching for a backroom role. If he chooses to continue coaching, then there will a wealth for suitors for the legendary coach after the World Cup.