Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is skating on thin ice after yet another Premier League defeat.

The north London club reached a new nadir in their disastrous 2020/21 season as they lost at home to Burnley thanks to a late own goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But the damage had been done much earlier with Granit Xhaka receiving his marching orders for grabbing Ashley Westwood by the neck after reacting furiously to his own foul.

Arsenal 0-1 Burnley

It was a damning way for Arsenal to welcome back their fans to England's top flight and means they've only scored one goal from open play across their last eight games in the competition.

Only Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United have lost more games than the Gunners in the Premier League this season - and those three are inhabiting the relegation spots.

Unsurprisingly, it means that a growing number of Arsenal fans are calling for Arteta's head with this dire form giving credence to prior concerns about his lack of managerial experience.

Arteta under pressure

And given how decisively the club acted during the darkest days of the Unai Emery era, it's not from without the realms of possibility that Arteta could be sacked if results don't pick up soon.

That's all well and good, depending on your point of view, but finding a world-class manager to take Arteta's place won't be easy and only a select few candidates are both suitable and realistic.

Therefore, considering Arsenal might be scanning the market sooner rather than later, we thought it made sense to get ahead of the game and see which managers could be ready and waiting.

Managerial favourites

As a result, we've turned to bookies Paddy Power, who have listed 18 tips to become the next permanent Arsenal boss, to see who the favourites to replace Arteta really are - check them out:

18. Arsene Wenger - 40/1

Can. You. Imagine!? As much as it would be earth-shattering to see Wenger reappointed, the form of his later seasons, which earned him so much criticism, look glorious compared to Emery and Arteta now.

17. Sol Campbell - 40/1

A manager with a lot of potential and knowledge of Arsenal, granted, but it's hard to see the Gunners taking a punt on somebody who has only led Macclesfield Town and Southend United.

16. Eddie Howe - 40/1

Yeh... I think the air has firmly been let out of the balloon when it comes to Howe, who is still searching for a job after leaving Bournemouth on the back of Premier League relegation.

15. Julian Nagelsmann - 33/1

Let's face it, this would be a brilliant appointment for the Gunners, it's just hard to see one of Europe's most exciting young coaches wanting to take on such a risky challenge at this stage.

14. Marco Rose - 25/1

There's quite a lot to like about his possibility, to be fair, because Rose has done an admirable job at Borussia Monchengladbach, though there are reports he'll take over at Borussia Dortmund next season.

13. Maurizio Sarri - 25/1

Woof, this would certainly be unpopular, but despite lasting just one season at both Chelsea and Juventus, he did win the Europa League and Serie A respectively for the European giants.

12. Mauricio Pochettino - 25/1

As much as this would be a glorious appointment for Arsenal, it's difficult to imagine Pochettino betraying his Tottenham Hotspur legacy by managing their biggest rivals just one year on.

11. Roberto Martinez - 20/1

This looks like a perfect fit for Arsenal, doesn't it? The only problem is that Martinez literally has no incentive to leave the world's best national team ahead of Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.

10. Steven Gerrard - 17/1

Given Gerrard's legendary status at Liverpool, you'd have to imagine that he would only take one job in the Premier League and it seems to be his for the taking when Jurgen Klopp leaves.

9. Freddie Ljungberg - 16/1

If we were talking interim bosses, then maybe, but appointing Ljungberg permanently would be so bizarre after he led Arsenal to just one win from six games during his spell in the dugout last year.

8. Gian Piero Gasperini - 14/1

You've got to respect the job that Gasperini has done at Atalanta since 2016, but lest we forget that the 62-year-old has only ever managed in Italy and infamously lasted just five games at Inter Milan.

7. Thierry Henry - 12/1

You can't help feeling that Henry destroyed his chances of becoming Arsenal boss when he lasted just three months at AS Monaco and his time with Montreal Impact has hardly been much better.

6. Diego Simeone - 10/1

Yeh, in Arsenal fans' dreams maybe. Simeone would be risking career suicide by swapping the fantastic job he's doing at Atletico Madrid for one of the biggest poisoned chalices in Europe.

5. Rafa Benitez - 10/1

Meh, sure. It's easy to see Benitez taking the job and he'd probably steady the ship pretty well, but Arsenal chiefs would surely be well aware that this would go down like a lead balloon with the fans.

4. Patrick Vieira - 10/1

If Arteta is sacked, this is the appointment that feels most likely to me because Vieira is freshly available after being sacked by Nice and has a better managerial CV than most ex-Gunners.

3. Thomas Tuchel - 11/2

This would be a great selection for Arsenal if it wasn't for the fact Tuchel would probably have better offers on the table when and if he departs Champions League-finalists Paris Saint-Germain.

2. Brendan Rodgers - 3/1

Another smashing shout for the Gunners and Rodgers probably would have taken the job a few years ago, but for the sake of his career stability, I think he'd acknowledge he's better off with Leicester.

1. Massimiliano Allegri - 23/10

The dream solution for everyone involved. It's not hard to imagine Allegri agreeing and I think he would be most Arsenal fans' first choice as a proven winner across AC Milan and Juventus tenures.

Who would you choose?

Talk about a range of options.

You can't help feeling that some of the candidates, including ones that are realistic, make you think that sticking with Arteta isn't such a bad idea, particularly when Arsenal should be looking long-term.

But as much as Rome wasn't built in a day, there comes a point where bad form goes beyond bad form and Arsenal tick that box as they set their coordinates for a bottom-half finish.

So, while it should never give anyone pleasure to see somebody losing their job, you have to wonder whether it might be in Arsenal's best interests if a world-class option is realistic.