Jose Mourinho believes his assistant manager would suit the Arsenal job

Jose Mourinho would not stand in the way of Rui Faria if Arsenal approached him to become their new manager.

Arsenal are on the hunt for a replacement for Arsene Wenger, whose 22-year association with the club is set to come to an end later this month. Several high-profile candidates like Carlo Ancelotti, Massimiliano Allegri and Luis Enrique have all been linked with the Gunners job but a somewhat surprise name entered the conversation earlier this week in the form of Zeljko Buvac. Buvac stepped away from his role as Jurgen Klopp's assistant manager at Liverpool until the end of the season due to family reasons but the rumour mill quickly kicked into overdrive, with odds plummeting on the possibility of Buvac taking the Emirates hot seat. In light of the Buvac rumours, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was asked on Friday whether he believed that his assistant would be suited to the upcoming vacancy at Arsenal. Mourinho backed Rui Faria to succeed in management but was unsure if that was a career path that interested his long-time right hand man. When asked if Faria would be a good fit for the Gunners, Mourinho said: "I think so, yes. I don't know (if he wants to be a manager). You ask me if I think it would be a good fit and I say 'yes'. "And I say it because 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, so he is a big friend, more than an assistant. "So, if one day the moment arrives, I will be very happy."