The Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has been a great fan of Wenger and has admitted that it was the Frenchman’s philosophy which first attracted him to the club in the first place.
Stan Kroenke said: “This is one of the most difficult days we have ever had in all our years in sport. One of the main reasons we got involved with Arsenal was because of what Arsène has brought to the club on and off the pitch. His longevity and consistency over such a sustained period at the highest level of the game will never be matched.
“Arsène has unparalleled class and we will always be grateful to him. Everyone who loves Arsenal and everyone who loves football owes him a debt of gratitude. Three Premier League titles, including an entire season unbeaten, seven FA Cup triumphs and 20 successive years in the Champions League is an exceptional record. He has also transformed the identity of our club and of English football with his vision for how the game can be played.
“We have high ambitions to build on Arsène’s remarkable tenure and to honour his vision by ensuring that Arsenal competes for and wins the biggest and most important prizes in the game.
“We must now focus on making a strong finish to the season and ask our millions of fans around the world to join us in paying appropriate tribute to one of the greats of Arsenal’s history and one of the greats of the game.”
Kroenke has seen Wenger help to increase the worth of his shares in Arsenal to incredible levels, and the fans now just need to hope that he uses those profits to help grow the club even more and invest in getting back into the top echelons of English and European football.
Hope being the operative word!
Darren N
I just watched the Ivan Gazidis press conference. I was hugely impressed by his sensitivity and general intelligence plus nous in handling some tricky questions. What his speech told me was that the new man has definitely not yet been decided upon. Whoever it is, I EMPHASISE WHOEVER, will have a long and tricky job to repair the team damage but I personally pledge to support him, until he has either proved he can or can never do the job properly. Our prime loyalty MUST always be to the club, never again the person, whoever that be. This was the major problem of his last decade and he became – in SOME peoples minds – the club. He and everyone else too, is only EVER an employee. They are not and can never be the club or bigger than the club. Not ever again.
I agree
The next manager might struggle against the likes of Guardiola, Klopp, Mourinho and Pochettino. The fans must be prepared for a long hard road ahead, like what MU and Liverpool are facing currently
We have to be realistic about our expectation of the next manager. Even MU was almost relegated during Sir Alex Ferguson’s early years at the Old Trafford
Thomas Tuchel will be the new arsenal manager and Patrick Vieira as assistant.
Wenger is going to PSG and not Monaco.
Take this to the Bank.
Sorry Kenyanfan, word on the street is that Thomas Tuchal has aready been signed as PSG manager, having already knocked back the chance to manage Bayern Munchen.
I will never doubt you again…
*Jon Fox
Total nonsense , IMO
I was referring to the post by Kenyanfan as nonsense.
same here. Even if its someone I wouldn’t prefer, like Rodgers, gotta give him a chance from day one and get behind him. I’d really prefer it not be him though, especially looking at the amount of other options.
“High Ambitions”?
Dont trust Kroenke at all.
But I’m hoping he will give the new manager a sizeable “war chest”
He would be the last one that has to be replaced with a more ambitious man
But unlike Wenger, he doesn’t deserve a great sendoff
Don’t expect new manager to win trophies straight away will take years to build a team capable of challenging for tittle and while I agree it was time for Wenger to go I still remember the phrase be careful what you wish for!!
I’m sure we can find one that isn’t happy with midtable mediocrity
The real quandary is how do we remedy this situation without making matters worse. To start, we must not fall for the dangerously familiar trap of underestimating the gravity of the situation and simply falling in love with the misplaced notion that any change is good change. The enormity of this restoration project is such that getting the “right” manager is of the utmost importance. Presently there is ample speculation regarding potential replacements, some of whom have quite impressive resumes, while others have little or no real managerial experience whatsoever, either way the “right” decision must be made or the consequences will be grave. Further complicating matters is the fact that the pool of viable managerial options will become increasingly more diluted if we don’t act quickly, as other clubs like PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich will almost assuredly be on the hunt. Finally, one must not forget that the World Cup is on tap this summer and we all know how that can negatively impact player movement, preparation for the upcoming season and player availability come August & early September, or at least that was the case under our departing manager. (God it’s great to be able to say that) On a side note, this might be the greatest 4/20 gift ever!!!
An enormous decision has been made for the best interest of the club by the board and wenger, now another enormous decision awaits the club in finding the correct manager at this particular moment in time.
Do we take a short fix(1-2 years) ala ancelotti to stabilise the club in the precarious situation we are right now and then entrust the club to a younger hungry coach like tuchel, Nagelsmann or try to build another long-term solution by launching young legends like viera, arteta, henry or bergkamps in the deep end hoping to find another guardiorla.
We could also try a tactical coach like simeone or allegri as this core of players have already been trained in the attacking side of football by wenger, a tactical coach would see improvement in players like mustafi, xhaka, iwobi and a kick up the ass to players like ozil, ramsey whose form and effort fluctuate between games.
Do not celebrate yet as a miscast manager could set us worse than under wenger.
It’s going to be an interesting few months. I can genuinely see the case for every managerial candidate that has been mentioned. Indeed my only big concern is Brendon Rodgers but that has more to do with a fear he will divide Gooners again. The best thing about today is that we can bury the AOB vs AKB malarkey once and for all. We can’t risk creating a a new schism even before the first game. Whoever it is needs 100% support from the outset.
Very big shoes to fill!! The next manager must have proven ability at the top level, perhaps Allegri?
We don’t want David Moyes Mark 2 or for that matter Brendan Rogers who hasn’t been at the sharp end of football for the past 3 years or so.
Even though I felt he needed to move on, it is still a sad day for me and he deserves a great send off from ALL Arsenal supporters for what he has done for our club.
Kroenke has it all to do now.With Wenger gone he must show he has the ambition to drive the Club forward.Without 100% commitment from the owner to the new Manager we will stagnate to a level of just making up the numbers.There is no doubt Wenger removed a lot the flak that Kroenke should have received over the past few seasons and the Owner doesn’t have that protection anymore.We will soon see if his intentions are positive otherwise KOB’s will be the new AOB’s
Exactly Phil; Wenger will no longer be around to deflect attention from Kroenke and the board.
I’m free this summer if you wanna appoint me as the next manager. My resumes all read nil, but I can fill em all up in a season or two.
Let’s just appreciate all Wenger has done in the past and turn the corner. New manager new era. Gooner 4 life. Whoever it shall be. Support the club not the employees.
*clicks send on online Arsenal manager application form*
Scrap that. Just heard Ancelloti has thrown his hat in the ring. Can’t defeat him. Could defeat Enrique, Rodgers, PV5 at interview but with Ancelloti it’s no chance.
*clicks unapply on screen*
Now i can look fowarded to telling everybody that im a Gooner. All respect AW but you should have done this last season
Managers can change, but Arsenal type of play is a brand that should not change.
I have a big party this week end …thanks God finally he is leaving….. .long live Arsenal Club!!!
He was fired ……for ever….
@Brett, I think Maurizio Sarri can maintain our brand of football, he is doing excellent job at Napoli