The favourite has to be David O'Leary. Spider wasted no time in declaring his interest, and the press reckon that his friend Niall Quinn could be installed as his assistant. O'Leary and Quinn speak regularly, and have the same agent. The speculation is fuelled by the fact that Quinn is the only member of Sunderland's coaching staff who wasn't shown the door along with Peter Reid.

The third Gunner in the frame is George Graham who says, "I'm keen to speak to any club whose ambition matches my own."

Reid was sacked yesterday. It seems a little harsh to be frank. He seemed destined for the chop a couple of weeks ago, but coming up to the Arsenal match they had appeared to be picking things up a bit. Losing 3-1 to the Champions (and winning the second half) is no disgrace. Leeds lost 4-1 to us at their place and no-one called for Venables to go.

Perhaps it was Reid's disposition in the wake of Sunday's defeat which was the last straw. They had been 2 down after 4 minutes at Highbury last year, this year they lasted twice as long before conceding the second, and Reid joked after the match that this constituted improvement.

Incidentally, the date of the League Cup tie at Highbury has been confirmed as Wednesday 6th November (7.45). Chances are we'll be welcoming them back with an Arsenal legend and former Leeds manager at the helm.