Arsenal are preparing for life after Arsene Wenger and have started to make enquiries towards potential replacements, The Daily Mirror reports.

What's the word?

If things were rated at 50/50 as to whether Arsene Wenger would stay beyond the summer before the thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich, the defeat in the Champions League Round of 16 has certainly pushed the Frenchman closer to an exit.

A toxic atmosphere around the fanbase has seen the majority of fans shift towards wanting a change in management at the end of the season and Arsenal's board has started to enquire about potential successors, despite placing a two-year extension on the table to Wenger.

Whilst that offer remains on the table, Arsenal would need a major turnaround for their to be any chance of Wenger staying in- with their season finish having to include an FA Cup success and strong end to the Premier League campaign for that to occur.

Even if Arsenal were to embark on another unbeatable run, the need for change is paramount and the club's hierarchy seems to be finally accepting that that is the case.

Who could come in?

Arsenal have a number of potential replacements on their short-list for Arsene Wenger, with The Daily Mirror reporting last week that a four-man target list had been drawn up- which featured Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Tuchel, Juventus' Massimiliano Allegri, Monaco's Leonardo Jardim and Bayer Leverkusen's Roger Schmidt.

Dortmund boss Tuchel was previously regarded to be the front-runner for the Arsenal job but Tuesday night's defeat to Benfica in the Champions League has intensified his own issues at the Signal Iduna Park, which may concern Arsenal as they look for a steady hand.

Despite his public announcements that he's happy at Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri is reported to be interested in the Arsenal job and the same is the case for Diego Simeone, both of whom would add to the Premier League's growing list of world-class managers.

Allegri is tied to Juventus until 2018 and Simeone cut his contract short by two-years earlier this season, opening the door for Arsenal to swoop- although they would likely have to pay compensation.

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