Ten players who were sacked as managers by former clubs as Arteta and Zidane struggle at Arsenal and Real Madrid

ZINEDINE ZIDANE is under increasing pressure at Real Madrid after his side lost to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night.

Los Blancos were beaten 2-0 to leave them THIRD in their Champions League group with just one game to play.

Zidane is under pressure as Real Madrid boss after a difficult start to 2020-21Zidane is a Real Madrid legend thanks to his playing days and previous managerial success

Unthinkably, Real Madrid – the most-successful club in European history – could drop into the Europa League for the remainder of the season.

The Spanish papers are full of speculation suggesting he will be sacked and replaced by Mauricio Pochettino.

Zidane himself has defiantly claimed he will NOT resign.

But should he be given the boot, Zidane would be sacked as manager of a club he once starred at as a player.

And he wouldn’t be the first to have that happen to him…

ALAN SHEARER – Newcastle

Alan Shearer struggled mightily as Newcastle manager and was in charge for their 2009 relegation

Shearer did his legacy at Newcastle no good after taking on the boss’ job

SHEARER is a club legend at Newcastle – possibly their best-ever player.

But he did his legacy no good whatsoever in 2008-09.

Kevin Keegan rejoined the club as manager in January 2008, but was gone by September after a fall-out with the owners.

Joe Kinnear stepped in, before leaving due to ill health – with Chris Hughton taking temporary charge for six games.

Shearer returned in April for the final eight games of the season in a bid to help the Toon avoid relegation.

The ex-England forward managed just one win and two draws in those matches and Newcastle dropped into the Championship.

Shearer was swiftly given the boot, with Hughton taking over full-time and getting the club promoted on his first attempt.

GRAEME SOUNESS – Liverpool

Souness struggled to replicate his playing form as manager of Liverpool

Souness enjoyed great success at Liverpool as a player in the 1970s and 80s

SOUNESS spent six trophy-laden years at Liverpool in arguably their most-successful period ever, between 1978 and 1984.

After Kenny Dalglish’s resignation following an impressive spell as boss, Souness was given a five-year contract.

But under three years later, Souness was sacked with a paltry win-rate of just 41.6 per cent.

Souness won just one FA Cup during his time with his stint at Anfield – as a manager at least – not remembered fondly by Reds fans, mostly for a series of high-profile spats with club legends during his time in charge.

ROBERTO DI MATTEO – Chelsea

Di Matteo won the FA Cup AND Champions League as manager of Chelsea but was still sacked

Di Matteo won two FA Cups as a player at Chelsea

ONCE the hero of TWO FA Cup titles at Chelsea, Di Matteo returned to Stamford Bridge as manager nearly a decade after he left as a player.

As interim boss, following Andre Villas-Boas sacking, Di Matteo led the club to their first-ever Champions League title in 2011-12.

It was the trophy Roman Abramovich most-craved at the time and the Italian was given the boss’ job full-time.

Di Matteo also won the FA Cup in the same season.

Just seven months later, Di Matteo was sacked, with Rafa Benitez – an enemy of Blues fans from his years at Liverpool opposite Jose Mourinho – taking over.

KENNY DALGLISH – Liverpool

Dalglish was sacked after a disappointing second spell in charge of Liverpool

Dalglish enjoyed huge success as a Liverpool player and manager in his first stint at the helm

DALGLISH was a legend at Anfield as a player and enjoyed a superb spell as manager between 1985 and 1991.

Liverpool won THREE top-flight titles during his reign, before he resigned – replaced by Souness.

In 2009, Dalglish returned to Liverpool as youth boss under Benitez and was kept on beyond the Spaniard’s sacking.

The Scot was asked to help find a replacement for Benitez, with Roy Hodgson given the job.

But after Hodgson’s woeful spell in charge, Dalglish took on the job in January 2011 – 11 years after his last job, a brief spell at Celtic.

But in his first full season at the club, Dalglish led Liverpool to their worst-ever Premier League season, with his side finishing eighth.

Winning the League Cup and reaching the FA Cup final wasn’t enough to save his job and he was sacked one season into a three-year deal.

THIERRY HENRY – Monaco

Henry endured a horror spell in charge of Monaco in 2018-19

Thierry Henry kicked off his career as a player at Monaco

HENRY will forever be remembered as an Arsenal legend on these shores.

The Frenchman also shone at Juventus and Barcelona either side of his Gunners stint.

But Henry’s career was launched by Monaco where he spent seven years in the youth ranks and first-team.

Nearly 20 years after leaving Monaco – in 2018 – he was back as manager, replacing Leonardo Jardim, who’d led the club to the Ligue 1 title in 2016-17.

But Henry would last just three months, as he won just four of his 20 matches in charge and was sacked with the club in 19th.

He was replaced by Jardim, whom he’d replaced just months earlier.

OSSIE ARDILES – Tottenham

Ardiles struggled as manager of Tottenham, unlike his days as a player

Ossie Adiles became a Tottenham legend as a player

AS a player, Ardiles spent a decade in North London and helped win the 1981 FA Cup.

Just five years later, he was back at Tottenham via Blackburn, QPR, Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Swindon (as a player) and the Robins, Newcastle and West Brom (as a manager).

Ardiles bounced around a lot in those five years and despite a strong start as a manager at Swindon, struggled latterly.

He left Swindon with the club bottom of then-Division One, before lasting just one year at the Toon and Baggies apiece.

Ardiles led Spurs to 15th in his first season in 1993-94 and was sacked shortly after the big-money arrival of Jurgen Klinsmann.

TIM SHERWOOD – Tottenham

Tim Sherwood was sacked after five months in charge at Spurs

Tim Sherwood spent four years at White Hart Lane as a player

SHERWOOD racked up close to 100 Premier League appearances for Spurs as a player between 1999 and 2003 following his seven-year stint at Blackburn, where he won the title.

In 2008, he returned to the club to take on the role of Harry Redknapp’s No2, before taking over as technical direcetor in 2012.

In December 2013, Sherwood – and his gilet – took over from Villas-Boas and was handed an 18-month contract.

By May 2014, he had been sacked, since managing at Aston Villa and Swindon.

RUUD GULLIT – Chelsea

Gullit was sacked as manager of Chelsea and replaced by Vialli in 1998

Ruud Gullit had previously starred as a player at Stamford Bridge

AFTER an already-illustrious career, Gullit joined the Blues in 1995 for a three-year stint.

The Dutchman enjoyed huge success after being put back in a more-familiar midfield role, having initially been deployed as a sweeper by then-boss Glenn Hoddle.

Gullit even finished runner-up to Eric Cantona as Footballer of the Year in 1996.

That summer he was appointed player-manager after Hoddle’s departure.

With Chelsea second in the league and into the quarter-finals of TWO cup competitions in 1997-98, Gullit was sacked and replaced by Gianluca Vialli following an alleged row with the board.

Then-chairman Ken Bates later revealed: “I didn’t like his arrogance – in fact I never liked him.”

GARETH SOUTHGATE – Middlesbrough

Southgate was sacked a few months after getting Boro relegated to the Championship

Southgate won the League Cup during his playing days at Middlesbrough

NOW England manager, Southgate kicked off his career in coaching at former club Boro – where he’d spent the final five years of his career.

Southgate replaced Steve McClaren after he took over as Three Lions chief in 2006 and lasted just over three years.

His sacking was baffling at the time, with Middlesbrough just one point off the top spot in the Championship after a tricky 2008-09 season, where they were relegated from the Premier League after finishing 19th.

But chairman Steve Gibson insisted the decision had been made weeks earlier for the good of the club.

MARTIN O’NEILL – Nottingham Forest

O’Neill lasted only a few months as manager of Nottingham Forest in 2019

O’Neill was a part of Forest’s greatest-ever team, winning two Euroepan Cups

O’NEILL was a Forest legend as a player, spending a decade at the club and helping to win the top-flight title and TWO European cups.

It took 28 years for O’Neill to return to the City Ground after a long playing and managerial career.

In January 2019, O’Neill took over from Aitor Karanka but was sacked in the summer despite leading the club to ninth in the Championship.