After 15 years of service there is are increasing calls for Arsene Wenger to be sacked or resign.. but is this just?
Having joined back in 1996 and winning the double in 1998 and 2002 as well as heartache in the Champions League and Uefa Cup finals. There has now been a barren spell of 6 trophy-less seasons.
But who is to blame? Is it Arsene? Or maybe the influx of foreign riches to the Premier League and the building of Ashburton Grove.
Wenger is held in high esteem throughout football for his playing and financial philosophy. Since joining he has spent less on transfers than all of his rivals including Spurs! Yet Arsene has qualified for the Champions league for 14 years running (longer than any other team in the competition at present) and 13 times more than bitter rivals Spurs.
But is the Champions League qualification enough? Arsenal went close to winning the cup in 2006 but have failed to win any silverware in 6 years.
The issue Arsene now faces is the fans are used to winning, he is a victim of his own success. Would Arsenal fans prefer Wenger spends big every transfer window and put the club in an unstable financial position to increase the chances of winning trophies, bear in mind the big spending Manchester United, Man City and Chelsea could still outspend Arsene.
No amount of money can guarantee trophies with the current level of competition in the Premier League and CL. We all remember what happened to Leeds after they borrowed money against future success that didn’t follow. How many Leeds fans would swap their 1-2 years challenging for trophies for 10 years of mid-table football in the Premier League?
What now for Arsenal fans? Do we get behind Wenger’s (frustrating) transfer philosophy and accept we can only push for titles with some luck? Or do we call for his sacking and increased spending to fight with the Sheikh’s of the football world and jeopardize the Arsenal Legacy created over the last 20 years?
I’m sure most mid-table sides would be ecstatic with a top four finish and Champions League football without debt. But what’s your take? And is Arsene the right man to steet Arsenal towards future success?
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wenger has got to go….he came to arsenal & had a perfect defence. he has never replaced them, he then disbanded the invincibles too early.
now he has turned the club into a kindergarden.
tell him to go & work in a bank or something..
the premier league is called THE PREMIER for a reason. wenger & the board would do better in the championship or conference league..they have zero ambition.
business is all about gambling & risk taking
the premiership is about competition & if you dont compete with the other clubs you shouldnt be in it,end of.
we couldnt even win our own emirates cup f.f.s!
Ben, a well articulated debate that leads to your question. Do we get behind monsieur Wenger or sack him and increase the spending in order to chase trophies? My take is reflected in the fact that I have supported Arsenal for 30 years and for me he’s the best we have had. He is the only manager around with such a multi-dimensional role, has a holistic approach to the game that includes a strong business foundation. Let’s don’t forget that without him we would have not built a state of the art training complex, we might have not moved to the Emirates or if did then probably would have been mid table. Now we simply cannot compete with the 2 Manchester clubs, Chelsea and I will now want us to take the approach of previous reckless spenders such as Leeds, our ‘neighbours – S….’ or even Liverpool currently. Guys no matter how we dress this up, football is in a financial crisis and this gets lost by the few clubs that are bank-rolled by billionaire owners who we should not use as a gauge for spending. Spending does not guarantee trophies as we may well see with Liverpool this season. If you would still like to sack monsieur Wenger then consider the alternatives for the job.
Hero. No other manager could lose funds to a stadium project whilst rivals have hundreds of millions to spend and remain fairly competitive.
But that part of Arsenals growth ought to be over now and they should be buying some players, he’s close to undoing his good name in the short term – but in the long term he will be viewed as a great whatever happens because he’s changed Arsenal and any future success is largely built on his foundations… also guys like Wilshere, Afobe & Frimpong came through his academy set up.
Finally someone with sense has a voice. Arsenal has been punching above it’s weight for more than a decade now. All this thanks to a creative football system and prudent performance on the market. We have achieved this and also managed to invest in a fantastic stadium. Had we won the carling cup last year the sentiment would have been a lot different. Instead the fans and player have become obsessed with trophy talk. The obsession is what will undo Arsenal not Wenger’s success. He has been the most constant party at Arsenal. Any thought of replacing him or not supporting him is Ill-advised. We were close and we have a competent that can beat any money assembled side any day. What we are lacking now is belief. Our lack of belief has been orchestrated by the media when they used to criticize us even when there was nothing to critisice, then the fans got nervous then the team became nervous and now Wenger’s also becoming nervous even when we are up 4- 0. The solution is not nessarily Samba or Cahill. All it takes is a couple of mistakes from them also before our back line is condemned yet again. What we need is to come back as supporters and get behind the team. Make Emerates a fortress and trophies will come. As yourselves why we did better away than at home with the same team. Fans have become their own detractors!
Matt, we’re on the same wave length here buddy. Well said.
Well said Matt,belief is all that is lacking in the team but we have a team that can challenge for the title and a manager who has been an honest servant of our club.
The time has come for us to question those of our fans who keep cousing anxiety at the Emirates.
“Ask yourselves why we did better away than at home with the same team”
– teams happy to get a point at Emirates and the players start with a low tempo expecting the win to just happen. Fans can do much better but the players need to give them something to work with…
– but I agree with your reply in general
The game has moved on. Megabucks secure success. Fabregas and Nasri would surely stay if they had better players around them. The club could easily have afforded to finance a restructuring of the team in June but neglected to do so. This was Wenger’s fault. He is self-delusional in his myopic pursuit of success without investment. All top businesses require reinvestment in personnel. His philosophy has failed because the players he retains lack quality at vital, defining moments. The team lacks a spine. 2 top centre halves and a top goalkeeper were vital – Wenger neglected to acquire these and will pay a very heavy price with his job. Supporters paying £ 2000 per season ticket are entitled to better management and not this mean-minded search for crumbs from higher tables and a cobbled together bunch of second rate also-rans. There is also a lack of discipline. Sulking brats on vast salaries should be left in the reserves for a season. The armband worn by great leaders of men like Hapgood, Mercer, McLintock and Adams has no place on a spoilt boy in a scruffy t-shirt. Where is the management of this appalling situation Mr Wenger ? And as for our new owner, does he know anything about football ?