Henry and Vieira together during their playing days (Getty)

Ray Parlour has urged Arsenal to begin making plans for who will succeed Arsene Wenger – with ex-players Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira viable options.

Wenger signed a new contract over the summer, after much speculation that he would leave, that will see him remain at the club for another two years.

But the Frenchman’s long tenure will eventually come to an end and Parlour has warned that Arsenal must be prepared.

‘If I was Arsenal now, I’d be looking in two years time, whenever it’s going to be, and see who is going to be interested in taking over. Try and put it in place now. Managers don’t hang around,’ he told AskFans.

Wenger is contracted to Arsenal until the summer of 2019 (Getty)

Henry and Vieira – two stars of the Invincibles side – should be on the radar, says Parlour.

‘Do you know who would be perfect one day? Patrick Vieira. He’s manager at New York, but now he’s probably in line for the Man City job instead of Arsenal. He’s part of their club.

‘In the future, maybe Thierry Henry. He’s a very intelligent guy, he knows the players, he knows the dressing room and he knows how to attract big players. He could be perfect for it.

‘Will he get an opportunity? Who knows. I would always look at ex-players.

‘I know it doesn’t always work out like that with Tony Adams and such, but if they know the club inside out, which Vieira and Henry do, it gives you a big advantage.’

Vieira and Henry won a host of trophies together (Getty)

Parlour, who won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups during his time with the Gunners, reiterated the importance of Arsenal starting the process of finding Wenger’s successor early.

‘When you sack a manager you’ve got to have a plan. You’ve got to tap people up. You’ve got to be asking their agents and getting something in place. Ask them “would you be interested if an opportunity came up to manage Arsenal?”’

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