Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp claims the Arsenal squad have ‘no character and no will’ after the club announced manager Arsene Wenger would leave his post at the end of the season.
The Frenchman revealed in a statement on the Gunners’ official website on Friday that he is to step down as manager at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
The 68-year-old has been in charge at the Emirates since 1996, winning three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during his 22 years at the club.
In a column for Sky Sports, Redknapp has highlighted the reasons why Wenger’s departure comes at the right time, and made some claims about the state of the Gunners’ dressing room.
“The way they’ve been performing away from home is quite damning really. To have no points away from home in 2018 tells you it is a team with no character and no will. That comes from the manager, it’s him who sets the tempo with those kind of things.
“I think the players are bored of listening to him now. It’s no disrespect, it’s just the way football is. It’s too comfortable to be there now, no one feels under pressure. Maybe a new manager coming in will freshen it up,” he said.
OPINION
It is hard to argue with Redknapp’s assertions here. Arsenal have the worst away record in all of England’ top four professional leagues, and that is unacceptable for a club of such stature. The fact is that Wenger’s tenure at the club has gone stale, and they need new blood to come in and liven things up. This is not a slight on Wenger’s character, but merely situational. It would happen to anyone who has been in charge of a club for so long, and in the ever-changing world of modern football, it has seen the Gunners left behind many of their rivals.