Jens Lehmann has called for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to extend his contract with the club beyond the summer, despite the devastating results in the Champions League in recent weeks.
The North-London side slipped to their worst ever defeat in our new stadium last night, when Bayern Munich took full advantage of a controversial red card to beat us 5-1, matching the score from the first leg in Germany also.
Lehmann was the only player to play every minute of the Gunners Invincibles season under Wenger back in 03/04, which just so happens to be the last time the club won the illustrious Premier League title.
Lehmann has now moved to defend his former manager, giving the fans a swift reminder of all he has done for the club over the years, whilst reiterating his desire to succeed.
“I think he has to stay now – he’s done so much for the club,” Lehmann said. “People are talking about his age and they want a new manager to bring fresh air but it’s very difficult to replace intelligence.
“He’s still got the fire and for what he’s done he deserves not to go out on such a bad result.
“Next season it could be a completely difficult situation,” he added.
He then commented on the refereeing decision to send Laurent Koscielny off, and believes that although the result should have been tighter without the red card, the situation simply highlighted a weak player mentality within the squad.
“The referee has influenced the result a little bit. It could have been very close – yesterday’s result.
“On the other hand it has shown the group of players are not yet up for the big competition in the Champions League.
“Some players give you the impression that if it’s really getting tough they don’t care anymore.
“That’s a big difference to us but the generation now seems to be like that,” he said.
It is hard to defend the manager so fresh in the face of our biggest ever defeat at the Emirates Stadium, but does anyone agree with some of his points?
Pat J
It is hard to disagree with AW having done a lot for the club. But the fact is, our we have had the same problems for years now:
– The team can’t defend as a team
– Injuries
– Weak mentality
And there is only one person with the ultimate responsibility for it, and that is the manager.
How on earth more of the same should bring us success in the future, is beyond me. So waiting for a “high”, where Wenger can leave, is either mission impossible or a matter of setting the “high” so low, that we become a midtable club.
No, the best for the club and the only chance of salvaging something like a top 4 ofr FA cup succes would be if he steps down immediately.
He should do himself a favour- resign at the end of the season. Work his bloody hardest to win a record 7th FA Cup for himself and a record 13th for Arsenal at whatever cost (yes top 4 be damned). He will be remembered as the domestic champion he is. A season outside the CL will help us rebuild and reposition for the future.
Lehmann is as deluded as wenger, a manager that can’t solve the issues in his team should continue? That’s delusion personified
Nah, let’s try someone different
he built the stadium all on his own Arsenal are nothing without Wenger you should all bow down get your hard earned money out and stop moaning
“wees himself slightley while laughing his ass off at the pathetic fans who still think avaerage is ok”
He should have left on a high when He won the FA cup back to back few years ago. Right now, he is tarnishing the image he built in the club.
Truth is if Wenger signs, expect odd thrashing here and there in games. He is so stubborn and rigid to change.
As for me, a huge Wenger fan… I want him to Go asap
100% agree uzi…i was a fan of wegner but now i believe it is time to go.
How much longer can we tolerate this happening to our beloved club waiting for another high. His team couldnt hit a high even if they took lebanese red at half time..a pathetic load of prima donnas. Back in the day i stood in the clock end at highbury watching the likes of charlie george, ray kennedy, john radfird, pat rice…those guys were proud to wear the shirt…this bunch meh !
The man never comes out and blames his players for anything. It’s always the ref, being jaded from fixture congestion, being unlucky, always any or all of those three things.
He says it’s difficult to explain why we start slow in games.
Some players played good in the game yesterday. Well some of those same players were rubbish in the first leg.
I don’t want to see Iwobi or Coquelin in the first team for remainder of the season, but knowing Wenger they will pop right back into first team action.
Pretty good appraisal of the AFC situation by the Guardian.
Imagine the effects of letting Diego Simeone loose in Arsenal’s dressing room – the guardian
https://apple.news/AGgJglc24RQG9K-Z5D4ak4A
I would love to see Simone in our dugout but I know he is pretty much the anthethesis of the type of person/coach the board will seek out should wenger decide not to stay on.
Pretty good appraisal of the AFC situation by the Guardian.
Imagine the effects of letting Diego Simeone loose in Arsenal’s dressing room – the guardian
HTeeTeePeeS://apple.news/AGgJglc24RQG9K-Z5D4ak4A
I would love to see Simone in our dugout but I know he is pretty much the anthethesis of the type of person/coach the board will seek out should wenger decide not to stay on.
Having the “fire” is one thing but if it doesn’t translate to the pitch and results does it really matter?
You can be a genius, have a legacy and think you can still do it (most greats feel) and have a hard time coming to a conclusion that at Arsenal anyway the time has come. Maybe at a different club with world, different environment, different set of players (world class players) he can be successful. But at Arsenal it looks like he isn’t getting throught.
Who knows who is responsible for that. The players have let him down on numerous occasions can’t deny that but it is his team for top to bottom. It’s his staff and he calls the shots on the transfer window.
We don’t have many figures at the Emirates that are Arsenal Legends be it in the coaching staff or in a more administrative role. Figures like Henry, Vieira for example. Confrontational figures that would’ve challenged the manager with fresh ideas…now everyone is just falling in line. Is anyone actually challenging Wenger tod rive this team forward?
I doubt it and the club at the board level doesn’t much have a clue about football itself and can’t challenge him much.
Haha we will keep waiting for wenger to finish on a high and we are gradually or rapidly declining. Very soon we will be a mod table team if something is not put right
Shame on lehman. Such comments make wenger sound like the arsenal owner. This article is just adding fire to my fire
Of course let’s allow him to leave on a high. Let’s bring back the Emirates cup and invite Ludogorets,Sutton and Rotherham. Hopefully he can win it with Iwobi scooping player of the tournament.
No…not rotherham, they might get a result. I think Braintree Town…they just lost 4-0 at home to Lincoln City !
Its better if we gave up on false hopes.
Wenger might stay on here for the next 4-5 years and without doing anything much.
Fans have begged him to stay for next season and so have the board and the players.
The only way we can reduce the pain is by acceptance and move on.I myself no longer hold any trust in wenger’s management but how I feel wont change much.It might take the capacity of chelsea’s level of capitulation last season and leicester’s this season for him to leave.
And im not going to hold my breath on that
Haha there is a very high chance of capitulation. Wenger has always been lucky with top four this time its tough man.
yeah but that’s not the issue.
If he fails with the top 4 this season the board would give him another season to redeem himself.
But capitulation tends to start when you lose every game.Then that’s the time everything will be visible
The only chance that Wenger has of leaving on a high is by being escorted out of the club by his local drug dealer ?
Sad indeed, is a friend without weed. ?
I’m amazed that Wenger hasn’t yet resigned.
The guy is in his own world.
Wenger world.
Unbelievable.
I have said for years now that Dein leaving was the downfall.
I have been saying for years that Ivan can not replace Dein.
We now have a squad that has a lot of players who was signed during the lean years we should NEVER OF HAD! If only the Arsenal fans would care about the politics of the club they support. Maybe we would have united behind Dein in his ambition to get an owner who would invest… like Usmanov.
So now the team has a lot of deadwood and from what I can see, we have Gazidis who took over David Deins role of transfers and we have to rely on him to make sure the club does enough in the transfer market.
We have not done this well as a club, we still have a lot of players who is not good enough. To top this off, we have added to this with Gab who only lasted long enough till we could afford Mustafi in the summer window.
I like ElNeny but why did we buy him if Wenger had already spoken to Xhaka?
Welbeck was bought when Wenger only wanted to loan him for 12 months, since been injured more than fit and the loan could have saved us.
Chambers was bought at the same time as Welbeck, the time when Wenger was busy with World Cup… We have since got Holding who Wenger appears to prefer.
Gazidis is wasting the clubs cash!
Here is another transfer… Ozil. Yes the big one to start it all off. Only got him because Cesc said no to Arsenal, the club that shows no ambition. Not Wenger.
I could then point out how the board was selling our top players each year to fill us with mediocre players that we now have. Nasri was promised not to be sold and he even spoke out about how it was the board that told him he was sold, not Wenger. Wenger wanted to run down RvP contract rather than sell him with 1 year remaining and RvP was sold to UTD!!
Wenger may be clueless on when to make subs or picking the wrong team.
Also look at yourselves!
How you turn on players and managers for a bad game here or there, really helps to encourage players to stay right? Really makes other teams players think “Gosh, I wish I played for such great fans”
I support Arsenal and I feel there is more at fault than the manager, if anything the manager is hiding a lot of the faults from the fans by taking a lot of the blame for the owners choices.
We could get a better manager for tactics but we still have the profit orientated snobs at the top directing the club and not a passion filled fan who wants to win.
AKB at his best.. never want to criticize your master.. so if Dein was everything in those victorious years, does it mean Wenger just took a free ride back then? Coz since Dein left, Wenger did nothing and kept going backwards, so you accept Dein was the master and not your deluded old man? So you accept that now he should go?
Arsene has decided to do a talent show to boost morale. However the throwback of the defeat is having inherent issues for him. Arsene Wenger turns up to work:
Wenger: Sup! We getting Maccy D’s today?
Dick Law: Yeah, would 10 to 2 be OK for you?
Wenger: Dafuq you say? *Begins to kick law in the head*
Wenger walks into his office .Bould is there
Bould: Fam, would you be mad if I applied for your job?
Wenger: dude , seriously! I’m the man. I get this club to glory, bro
Kronke walks in
Wenger: *yelps*
Bould: hiya Steve
Wenger: don’t believe in him. All champions league money bro . Think dividends, Fam
Kronke: Yesterday was just too embarrassing
Wenger: was it your data allowance? Because I can renegotiate our mobile phone contracts!
Kronke: I have no idea what you mean
Bould: welcome to the club!
Wenger: don’t listen to him, he only wants this job because it’s an easy commute!
Kronke: well why dont you show me?
Wenger: OK………
Kronke: let’s go!
They are on the training ground:
Wenger watched Perez –
Wenger: yo, why you being a SP**”IC?
Kronke: You can’t say that? This is why we list Podolski! A good player whome you refused to recognise!
Wenger: bro, I’m the manager.. ..
Kronke: Yes but you have a history of offending attacking players yet you dont buy defenders
Wenger: but the real issue is that I drive a Lexus. It’s silky smooth unlike that tractor that dick law rides. It’s a hybrid
Kronke: what the 5 series BMW
Wenger: bro, why you got to bring that up?
Kronke: 5 series > Lexus hybrid
Wenger: nope
Kronke: 5 series is better than Lexus!
Wenger: *punches Kronke* how dare you talk about like that about aileen!!!!!!
At this point HR step in to take Wenger away. No end to this story because dude gets away with murder
There is an African wise saying that: What a sitting old man can see far away, a kid on top of tree cannot see as much.
An old man told me 10 years ago that Arsenal would never win Champions League with Wenger in charge. I disagreed with him vehemently.
Although, the old man is late now, he is still correct in grave while I am alive and wrong. I now add it that even Wenger cannot win EPL again as long as he is in charge.
Everyone has their opinion on the #WengerOut situation but this is mine:
I want the best players at Arsenal FC and I’m sure every fan does. If Wenger can bring these players in and use them correctly, then I don’t have a problem with him signing a new contract. The problem is, for years now he hasn’t been doing that, and when do you say, ok you’ve had enough chances now to refresh the team? I think the board need to make that decision. “Mr Wenger, we want to bring in the best players and refresh this team, and this is going to happen (preferably) with you, or if not, without you.”