ARSENAL are poised to join the continental drift in English football by appointing a foreign manager to replace Bruce Rioch, who departed the club yesterday less than a week before the start of the new season.

Top of Arsenal's wanted list are Jolian Cruyff, the former Dutch, international and Barcelona coach who was in London over the weekend. The Frenchman," Arsen Wenger, who has long had, admirers on the Arsenal board but is also thinking over an offer to become the FA's Technical director, is another on the shortlist.

A big name is essential to placate the fans after a pre season filled with bad results and adverse publicity, and Arsenal said "yesterday that they expect to name a successor shortly.

Rioch's departure - it is unclear if he resigned or was sacked comes almost 14 months after, he was hired by Arsenal to do a clean up job following the George Graham bung scandal, which dented the club's image and contributed to the team flirting with relegation.

His sudden departure so close to the new season has left fans and players bewildered. "It is just unbelievable," said the Arsenal forward Paul Merson. "Four or five days before the start of the season, I don't think it's fair on the fans or the players."

There has been a growing rift between Rioch and the man who runs Arsenal, the vice chairman David Dein, for many months now, leading to what insiders call a poisonous atmosphere between the two camps.

Ironically, the fans had taken Rioch's side, shouting abuse at Dein after a recent friendly in Florence and planning more protests leading up to the club's AGM on August 22nd.

They blamed him rather than the manager for the fact that, despite the Premiership transfer flurry, Arsenal have signed only the free transfer goalkeeper John Lukic, this July, since paying £4.75 million for David Platt on July 10th 1995. This despite being linked with players from Lombardo to Rui Costa.

Fans put this failure to strengthen an ageing squad down to Dein's insistence on doing the negotiations himself, a policy adopted to avoid a repeat of the control of transfers enjoyed by George Graham.

It is understood that Rioch, having told Dein which players he wanted, began to lose faith in his vice chairman's ability to persuade players to join the club, privately complaining that of 28 players submitted to Dein, Rioch shad not been allowed to speak to any of them.

This was one of the central reasons why Rioch refused to sign, a contract. Finally, Rioch did sign, at the end of last month after being strongly urged to do so by the Arsenal chairman Peter HillWood. However, that only makes yesterday's news even more puzzling.

Rioch's track record Was encouraging if not startling. He led Arsenal to a place in Europe this season with a side boosted by the addition of the club's record signing Dennis Bergkamp. But even here there has been controversy, with that deal and David Platt's transfer reportedly subject to investigation by the Inland Revenue.

Team affairs will now temporarily be in the control of the assistant manager Stewart Houston - who fulfilled a similar role after Graham's departure - and the coach Pat Rice.

The club has ruled out the new youth coach Liam Brady being appointed manager, though another former player, David O'Leary, is being touted as a possible candidate.

Arsenal have also twice tried to woo Terry Venables into the job, but the chances of a third attempt proving successful are thought unlikely given his new commitment to Portsmouth and his pending court cases.

A bigger surprise still would be the return to Highbury of Graham, still to find a new club since his one year ban expired last month.

The front runners remain Cruyff, who won the European Cup with Barcelona, and Wenger, though he is contracted to the Japanese club Grampus 8 until November. Both are respected coaches with a reputation for playing attacking football but are also aware of the importance of Arsenal type organisation.

Both would also have the standing to attract top players to Arsenal, just as Ruud Gullit has to Chelsea. This would be an invaluable asset not just to the team but also to a club contemplating a stock market flotation.