Former Arsenal forward Alan Smith believes there will be plenty of interest in the vacant managerial role at the club - despite their poor start to the season.
Arsenal opted to sack head coach Unai Emery on Friday morning after a disappointing start to the campaign.
The Gunners hierarchy have placed Freddie Ljungberg in temporary charge while a permanent replacement is sought, but his first game ended in a 2-2 draw with Norwich on Sunday afternoon, meaning the club are without a win in their last eight games.
And despite being seven points off the Champions League places, Smith believes there will be a high calibre of managers wanting the position, but insists his old club can wait until the end of the season before making a decision.
"There's a long list," Smith told Sky Sports News when asked about potential replacements for Emery.
"I'm sure they are conscious that they have to make the right decision this time. It is always a gamble, you never know if it is the right decision, they thought Unai Emery was. I thought it was a decent shout, at the time.
"They're going to have their pick of some talented managers and understandably so, it is a plumb job.
"I think they can wait until the end of the season. I think Arsenal finishing in the top four is a long shot now. There's no reason why Freddie Ljungberg and Per Mertesacker can't organise that team and nick a cup.
"You would ideally want to make it sooner rather than later, but you don't want to jump in for the sake of it.
"There's a lot of potential to improve at the club, obviously they've not won the title for a number of years and they're a long way off the likes of Liverpool and Man City and Leicester.
"The new manager would really be able to get his teeth into things."
