Arsenal's search for a new manager can get well and truly underway after the Gunners were knocked out the Europa League by Atletico Madrid on Thursday night.

Arsene Wenger's side were beaten 2-1 on aggregate after narrowly losing 1-0 in the Wanda Metropolitano in the second leg.

The veteran French manager, who moved to north London way back in 1996, is due to leave the club at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

"I’m very, very sad to leave the club with that exit," said Wenger after Arsenal's semi-final exit. "I will take some time to recover from this.

"The game can be very cruel; sometimes it is very nice. But the suffering is very strong tonight.”

Wenger now has only three Premier League games remaining.

Managers across Europe have been linked to the Arsenal job, with Liverpool's assistant manager Zeljko Buvac the current favourite.

Mourinho on Wenger's replacement

Manchester United's eccentric manager Jose Mourinho has weighed in on Arsenal's search for a new manager.

Portuguese coach Rui Faria, 42, has worked with Mourinho since 2001 and is currently the assistant manager at Old Trafford.

Asked if he thought that Faria would be a good fit for Arsenal, Mourinho said, as per the Independent: “I think so, yes. You ask me if I think it would be a good fit and I say: Yes. And I say it because he is more than my assistant, he is my friend.

“If my friend has the possibility one day of a big job, I would help him to pack and to carry the bags and to wish him luck.

“So if one day that is going to happen, the first one to be happy would probably be myself because I met him when he was a kid in his university and we were together for 18 years.”

Mourinho added: “He is a big friend, more than an assistant. So if one day the moment arrives, I will be very happy.”

Buvac, Carlo Ancelotti, Massimiliano Allegri, Brendan Rodgers and Luis Enrique are the frontrunners to take over the reins.

Faria is an outside candidate but his chances were boosted after The Telegraph reported that Arsenal are 'exploring a range of younger head coach-style options'.

Could Faria be the man to replace Wenger? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below.