Having watched, read and listened to the fallout from Fridays defeat to Man United, I feel something is sitting at the end of some Gooners tongues. They are dying to get out certain words but feel either unable to, or even afraid to. Which takes away the point of all these platforms which give us the right to have a freedom of speech.
Yet the second I write this, I know I will be hammered in the comments, yet we have to point it out some time….
So here goes ……. Do some now feel they were harsh on Arsene Wenger?
I always believed only the day he left would we quite realise just how good a job this man did. When we were complaining of only finishing 4th, he was in fact over achieving considering that Stan Kroenke is our owner. He loved us so much that he tolerated his employer having a lack of ambition. Boy did Stan Kroenke exploit that, letting the Frenchmen be his shield, the one person who would tell the press all that he wanted them to know. At any point Wenger could have protected his legacy by taking a job where he would have added to his medal collection. He could have put pressure on the board by (like Emery) being honest about the funds he had to play with.
He, like us was lied to about how building the Emirates would change our prospects. It’s safeguarded our future, but he would have hoped once the stadium debt was paid off, we would indeed compete with Bayern Munich. Our biggest mistake was putting too much emphasis on financial fair play and not factoring in other revenue. Under the current TV contract, we would have been fine staying at Highbury.
His biggest critics argue that when he finally had funds to spend, he targeted the wrong areas. Yet until his last day with us, he never spent what his rivals did. The likes of Ozil and Sanchez were overdue considering how many times he made a profit in the transfer window. Those who point to us buying Lacazette and Auba fail to mention these funds were raised by the loss of Gibbs, Gabriel, Walcott, the Ox, Giroud, Coquelin and Sanchez. If you said this 12 months ago you would be accused of being naive and blinded by the past.
Those same fans are now saying we shouldn’t judge Emery until he is backed. Yet for a decade it’s been clear who’s in the dugout isn’t the issue. History shows you get what you give, the more you spend the higher you finish.
We mocked Wenger for finishing 4th, yet now we celebrate that like it’s success. 12 months ago, the idea of only having the Europa League to play for was rock bottom, a year on we are in an identical situation. Yet why only now are we meant to feel sorry for our manager based on Mr Kroenke? It’s because some Gooners are too proud to admit they spent time forcing out the wrong man, the banners should have been aimed at the man counting the cash.
Some who have become YouTube sensations based on disrespecting the greatest manager in our history, now are not big enough to admit they were wrong. Yet when we were drawing with Liverpool earlier in the campaign, they were happy to make comparisons with the old regime.
It’s like ending a 20-year marriage then realising he/she was never the issue, that the grass isn’t greener with your new partner. You can’t admit that in public because you made such a noise about how rubbish your old life was and yet nothing’s changed. Wenger did try to warn us. He was loved by the press for never dodging a question.
So even on an eve of an FA Cup final., Knowing his popularity was fading he spoke about never forgetting the lack of respect he endured in his last couple of years.
From a PR perspective it wasn’t going to mend the fence with those abusing him, but he had to point out how hurt he felt. How he given his life to us, put us above his family, how he turned down top jobs while being asked to sell his best players every year. I’m sure he sees the irony of how now the likes of Arsenal TV have realised we will never win the title under current model.
In Le Prof’s last game at the Emirates, Richard Keys said, ‘Anyone else think Arsenal will regret this?’ I think we will. But there are some Gooners I don’t feel sorry for. This is the change you wanted, you didn’t want to listen to concerns regarding Mr Kroenke. To paraphrase Aladdin, ‘you want to be the genie, well now you get everything that goes with it.’
Dan Smith
Utter Drivel.
We are in this mess because of Wenger and Gazidis.
Wenger needed to go 10 yrs ago.
Wenger allowed Ozil to get a contract he does not deserve, creating a dressing room unrest that is taking Ramsey away from us. He played for the owners, not for the club or fans
Ozil signs a new contract in Feb a full month after Wenger was frozen out of January transfer dealings but it was Wenger’s offer? Do me a favour. Ramsey had a contract offer at the start of the season which was offered after Wenger left and he is going to Juve because the club withdrew that contract offer nothing to do with dressing room unrest.
If he truly loved us so much, why didn’t he fight the owner for change with all his influence or at least let us know what was going on instead of feeding us lies. He wasn’t completely at fault but he had to answer for the part he played with where we are now, also Gazidis with his mismanagement of tranfsers and wages, even the very much loved Dein for bringing stan the devil into the club.
David Dein was in favour of the Russian not Stan.
Whether he was in favour of the russian or not, doesn’t change the fact he introduced kroenke to the club. If he didn’t, maybe we wouldn’t be where we are now. Dein and Arsene are legends but they but made mistakes especially wenger.
true. David sold his shares to Umusanov out of frustration with the model when Chlesea was bough by Abramaovich. He advised the board to change the model cos football was changing. Remember dein is one of the co-founders of the EPL and he knew exactly what he was saying. Stan got his majority share from Lady Bracewell, she too left out of frustration. Sadly, Wenger is responsible for wasting money on bad players, bad tactics and truth be told he , being the economist, engineered the self sustaining model and that’s why he was a god and given such longevity and freedom. He was an idealist and purist but still board need to wake up and change this model it wont work. Sorry to say but fans need to now send a message to kroenke cos he wont react till it hurts his pocket. Sorry Emery for being caught up in this mess
Spot on, theGoon ?
Wenger loved us and his extravagant salary, that was why he insisted to linger around
The majority of the fans were not wrong in wanting Wenger out
The grass is not much greener with our new manager, but it is headed towards the right direction
What right direction? Sorry, Emery is taking us nowhere we haven’t been. He is scrap. They hired him because only he could tick the boxes of a ‘yes coach’. He needed a job.
Wenger would never have said the club has no money for signings. He would instead shield the club’s image and be the bad guy who has the money but would prefer to leave it in the bank!
Fans holding it against the current manager because of how the old one was treated, this is much worse than what you accuse the other fans of. Wenger had plenty of time, and while he did deserve respect, it is in the past. It almost sounds like some of these fans want Emery to fall flat on his face, in spite. Or maybe even hoping that Emery leaves early, because they believe Wenger could step straight back in. Some fans are talking in a way that is eerily similar to how the out brigade talked, yet these fans are supposedly Wenger backers. It is like they want to see all that turmoil stir back up (which makes me very suspicious). The turmoil within our fanbase was good for our rivals, then Websites and AFTV, so if I see AFTV being quick to talk like that already, well then I’ll know exactly what this is all about – Profit!!. No true fan of Arsenal would want to see that in such a quick aftermath as now, I know this in my heart. Until Emery makes enough of his own changes, and he’s gotten a proper size up of PL football, then it is much too quick to judge. Klopp only realized, after three seasons, that he couldn’t go with his Dortmund type CM creatives, he only now has put two defensive minded mids in front of the rearguard. The PL is not like other leagues, managers need to suss it out. Much of the criticism on Emery, the get rid type, is totally out of order.
I disagree, Emery is a poor Pep and he was hired by Gazidis as he would be a good yes man.
A manager who could train players and increase their value so Gazidis could sell them and make his boss profits.
If Emery had enough about him then he would have seen that his persistence of 3CBs was hurting the pressing game and the highline was exposing our issues… Instead of changing tactics until he gets the players he needs, he moans like a kid about not having funds, he refuses to play our highest earner who is also our best creator of chances… and we lose.
It is like dropping a lead weight and going “oooh, it fell”.
FFS of course, it was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes in their head! Emery tactics have hurt us more than our injuries… Funny how Emery gets worse injuries than Wenger yet people praise the hard training without question.
“Kroenke is the largest shareholder of Premier League association football club Arsenal. Arsenal already had a technical link-up with Kroenke’s Colorado Rapids when in April 2007 Granada Ventures, a subsidiary of ITV plc, had sold its 9.9% stake in Arsenal Holdings plc to Kroenke’s KSE UK inc.”
It was a subsidiary of ITV thatt sold Silent Stan his first shares, not Dein.
The words you are looking for is “Sorry Dein, I was wrong, I also learnt something new today which is cool!”
Dein didn’t sell his shares but he was the one who introduced kroenke to the club. Unfortunately when he realised the snake that kroenke was it was already too late.
Unfortunately, Midkemma some people on here won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.
David Dein loved the club and indeed for warned the board and suggested the alternative as has been mentioned, it is my preferred method. Itisno longer viable with the situation following the Trump investigation, collusion and Brexit. Chelsea are selling up and cashing out. 1bn of real estate development and a coub. Hazard will go in the summer, Moratta now and PSG would do well to sign key long term target Kante.
I dislike Emery I will make that clear, I know fora fact the signings this summer are the work of Wenger supported by a new and much more efficient team of negotiators, Matteois pure genius; a siging synonymous with the Gaffer.
Given the turnaround at Monaco and the pending investigation into the EPL I suspect that Stan may make way for his son, who sees Thierry as the long term installation at the Ems. It also gives me some hope I could have mayprayers answered, with the players able to force a rethink regarding the departureofJardem, a move ithink Henry wise to assist in.
Could that haooenhere¿ certainly possible and I think a move that could yield more fruit, can the players facilitate that¿
A point of note is in the case regarding Stan alleged and probably fraudulent acquisition of what became the catylist for his controlling shares. A club that paysnodividends with a holding arm in a tax free state.
Those wanting Arsene gone are an embarrassmentto me. Clearly you don’t understand football.
Absolutely not, Wenger had gone stale with no change of tactics, the players he brought in were not performing and we dropped out of the top 4 in the league (top 4 being Wenger’s mandate for each season). Yes we can sumise that the board did not give him the required backing but he did not have to buy the players he did when there were others available just as we can sumise that any other players that could have come in may have produced the required form and seen us into the top 4 or not as the case may be. Either way the buck stops with Wenger and the board remain almost untouchable. We could quite as easily have employed another manager instead of UA with no guarantee of being any better off than we are now. At the end of the day the fans protested, Wenger was replaced and now we will have to put up with it until the board decide otherwise.
Even worse, Wenger seemed to have lost the dressing room
At least the players currently looked to pay heed to Emery’s instructions. Especially after they saw Emery’s indiscriminate treatments of the stars
“Wenger had gone stale with no change of tactics”
Wrong.
Wenger swapped to a back 3, that is a change in tactics…
“the players he brought in were not performing and we dropped out of the top 4 in the league”
Again, BS.
We all seen Sven take power over transfer when he arrived, now, if Wenger was some kinda dictator prior to Sven then how did Sven get any power? Obvious answer is this, Wenger wasn’t some kinda overlord and he had to work with Gazidis to get transfers, if Gazidis said no then no it was to the transfer. For years I have been pointing to that man and highlighting how Arsenal transfers changed from his first full season as CEO. Transfers was not all down to Wenger, Wenger wanted quality and we have seen the lists of almost signed players.. Almost? Why… it is as if the CEO was at fault for not backing the manager fully. Forget logic though as the bandwagon is to mindlessly blame Wenger like a moron.
“Yes we can sumise that the board did not give him the required backing but he did not have to buy the players he did when there were others available ”
You mean like Auba?
Wenger wanted a CB, he had asked for a CB, rumors was linking us to Evans (urghh) but did we end up with a CB? What was one of the things Wenger was blamed for? Not buying a CB.
Oh look, you blamed Wenger for not getting the right players when I can clearly show that Wenger wasn’t getting who he wanted!
“Either way the buck stops with Wenger and the board remain almost untouchable.”
This is just too much stupid… Board almost untouchable yet are the ones who have interfered with transfers and restricted budgets.. untouchable.
Just to point out how stupid you are…
UA?
Unai Amery?
exactly…In past reports, Dein always get the transfera done…he always had a way to convince the board and pay the extra….
if the first choice cant be signed…a quality 2nd choice will be secured….
many have no idea how a football club is run..
a manager has to seek approval from his boss before a financial decision can be made
just like any corporate company….
With all due respect to the author, this article is more a reflection of his own feelings rather than as you claim, a representation of what most Arsenal fans feel. I, for one, cannot claim to know what everyone thinks but I speak for myself when I say that I do not regret for a second AW leaving. We were obviously stagnant, for years and years, and while I acknowledge Wenger did what he thought was best, it sure wasn’t or else we would have had something more to show for it aside from the FA cups (Which I still think is also a worthy achievement.)
I want to touch on the point you made about Wenger never dodging a question though. Maybe that’s true on some level, but I also cannot remember the last time Arsene Wenger answered 100% truthfully to any of them. Not once did he come out and say “I made this or that mistake, this was my responsibility. It was either the pitch or the ref or the weather or some unexplained cosmic event that only manifests when we play top 4 teams. It was starting to get incredibly ridiculous to hear all those empty excuses and misleading comments. If he was trying to protect us from the board’s mischievous ways, which he probably tried to do on some level, the only thing he accomplished was convince me he’s in on it.
I do not contest that he in fact is the greatest manager we have appointed but over the last decade, and with complete immunity from sacking, he was undoubtedly one of the worst in the whole of Europe. Because he was allowed to carry on with a failed project, without the proper backing and funding. He allowed that to happen when other managers would stir up the media and come out saying they are not being properly backed (like Emery did.) They might have used him as a scapegoat, sure, but he was by no means innocent of this staggering downfall of our beloved club.
Last point I want to make is that the changes Emery has introduced, whether to the squad or tactics or mentality are there to see. Sure, some of the old issues persist like the defence/defensive midfield issues/etc. but you don’t expect that to change overnight. You have to remember it’s harder to transform a club that has had the same manager for that many years, not to mention a challenge that is unique to so few clubs in the world (Mostly us and Manure). The biggest change is that if Emery does not succeed in fixing all of those issues, he will be sacked without a second thought when with AW it took almost a decade of sighs, protests, banners and AFTV for him to “resign.”
Let’s just give Emery a chance, he’s on our team after all. The media, other pundits/ex players/Arsene at the moment are most certainly NOT.
One of the best posts I’ve read in a LONG,
LONG, time on this forum and I couldn’t agree
any more with your sentiments. Well done sir,
look forward to your next offering.
Pharoah, thank you very much! As much as I respected arsene Wenger, the biggest issue I had with him is that he was an enabler for Kroenke; he was the highly paid Corporate mouth piece. Unlike Emery who was upfront with the media and supporters by stating that Arsenal only had provided him with funding for loans, Wenger would say there was no one suitable available in the market.
Pharaoh was a magnificent and brilliant post. You touched on so much and explained very well.
Looking forward to future posts by you if they are of similar nature. My comment pales to yours, and let me end by saying extremely well done my friend, BRAVO
“With all due respect to the author, this article is more a reflection of his own feelings rather than as you claim, a representation of what most Arsenal fans feel.”
You can claim it is the authors own feelings being reflected… I have read plenty of Dans articles and seen his poss, he wasn’t’ blaming Wenger like a lot of people, it isn’t his feelings being reflected as you put it.
“I, for one, cannot claim to know what everyone thinks”
No, you did claim on how we all think, claiming we think like you and not Dan.
If you didn’t know then you should have stayed quiet about what most Arsenal fans are thinking.
Rest of your post was equal trash..
Trash? LOL
You can and have done MUCH better mate.
Midkemma, I understand your admiration for AW which I have personally shared for years but I am just being rational here. I didn’t claim that my opinions were anyone’s but my own and I didn’t post to discredit the author. Every Gooner should be heard, the challenge is carrying a civilized argument respectfully. Especially since for all of us, the objective is ultimately the same. We want to win trophies, to be successful again, to not be the butt of every footballing joke. A good start would be for us to learn how to respectfully disagree without biting each other’s heads off.
It’s hard to see someone you respect and admire being dragged through the dirt, I get that. And I definitely share the belief that people take it too far, whether with AW or Ozil or whatever else is going on in the club. But that’s exactly what you’re doing right now. I have zero issues with Dan’s article, it came from the heart and that’s more than you can say about a lot of fans nowadays. Do I agree with it? No. Do I agree with your assessment of what’s wrong with Arsenal? No, but I still respect your right to have your own set of opinions.
Durand, Ace, thanks mates 😀 I’m definitely going to post more often! Despite the arguments, I could always tell this is a space for true gunners. Without the toxic agenda of mainstream media trying to sell issues of our misery 😛
How did ‘one of the worst managers in the whole of Europe’ manage to achieve a top four place in 20 of his 22 years and win 3 league titles and 7 FA Cups, three of them coming in his last five years? By that reckoning Pochettino, who has won nothing in four years, is the worst of all.
Pharaoh
Am hugely impressed with your post, more of this please
No I wasn’t.
Enough said about Wenger. He made so many BIG mistakes in last decade of his power that he is beyond redemption.
Nothing lasts forever and his time was up. The game was passing him by, more misses than successes with his transfer choices, and he was even losing the attractive football so many loved.
For many years there were only 4 top clubs CONSISTENTLY fighting at the top; so it was a matter of where they ended in the shuffle.
With advent of massive tv deals and money the landscape changed, league became uber competitive, and soon there were 6 teams fighting it out.
City who have bottomless funds
Utd who’s global branding allows them to spend heavy
Chelsea who’s owner spends his money
Spuds who grew their talent; even tho they’re our enemy, you have to applaud how they did things
Liverpool who hired Klopp, sold 2 players to fund their rebuild and spent wisely
Arsenal, who started to fall behind in this new era of tv revenue b/c owner sees club as a bank account and collateral to borrow against rather than a diamond to polish and invest in.
Wenger should feel more betrayed by Ivan and Stan than the fans, here’s why
Fans were patient for many years after the move and stood with Wenger on the promises sold by the owner and board. Soon we found out it was lies and no intention to pony up and spend in order to compete with the best as we were promised.
Wenger had the good will with fans to stand up to ownership and demand they keep their word and promise they made. Instead he chose to tow the BS line, get pay raises, and trumpet 4th place finish and CL rd 16 exits like it meant anything more than enriching board and owners.
IMO that was last straw, his support faded, and he was left holding the bag in the end; and Kronke had 100% ownership, new stadium, hundreds of millions in revenue, no accountability, and ready made scapegoat in Wenger.
Well played Stan, got your cake and ate it too. I was fooled once shame on you, but if I’m fooled again shame on me. I despise Kronke, he rarely speaks, and its bullshit when he does. We got mugged, and that’s life.
I have been waiting for months to read a post like Dan Smith’s. For twenty years in succession Wenger achieved a top four place on minimal outlay but was derided by fans for a lack of ambition. Even when he won three FA Cups in four years at the end those fans said that cup success was not good enough. ‘We want our club back’ was the cry. Well they have got their club back, the way it was before Wenger took over: a workmanlike but uninspiring side, only with defensive frailties. Emery is a good manager but he is not going to achieve success by sidelining the one great player we have got, Ozil. He needs to find a way of playing him. And above all he needs to persuade Kroenke to invest in the team.
Wenger bought
35m Xhaka
35m Mustafi
17m Perez
17m Welbeck
Wenger didnt
Sell Sanchez for 60m
Swapped Sanchez in panic for Mkhitaryan
Didnt sell Özil and he got a panic extension
All these actions sanctioned by Wenger and we are still facing the backlash of it.
Its not like Wenger was any better at all. Part of the problem he was, definitely.
Haha you mention £35 Million like it’s a lot of money. What top defender or midfielder would Wenger have gotten for £35 Million?
Even David Luiz was selling for £50 million that year.
Chelsea got Drinkwater for £40 Million, and I’ll puck Xhaka over him.
Wenger did not want Welbeck and Perez, he said it many times! He wanted Higuain and Vardy!!! But he was working for a club with no ambition! Wenger want Luis Suarez! But no his club could only afford £40.1m and we are seeing it happen again! Emery wants top players, Club says we can only afford loan signings, I mean? What serious clubs says that?
This same Wenger got Sanchez and Ozil and Kos and a million others who were all successful in the red and white shirt, but no, we rather point out the poor signings just because we want to nail his coffin.
Meanwhile Wenger NEVER wanted Sanchez sold, not to Man UTD again or any of his rivals, he said that many times! He was still haunted by the fact that he was forced to sell Van Persie to UTD. Eventually they forced his hands and he brought Miki, and tell me Miki hasn’t performed better for us than Sanchez has for UTD.
Wenger didn’t want Perez or Welbeck.
Wenger wanted Lacazette and Gazidis refused to make funds available and then panic bought Perez who Wenger threw out ASAP. I will point to how few chances Wenger gave him but look at how many chances other players have had who Wenger did want.
Welbeck, I shared this on this site in the year of purchase, Wenger only wanted Welbz on loan. you can find the interview somewhere which shows Wenger saying he only wanted him on loan and if it was up to him then we would only have loaned Welbroke.
Mustafi is also another questionable one, we had the deal agreed for Mustafi weeks prior to signing him but it looks as if Wenger wanted other targets and the board panic bought Mustafi at the end…. Not the last panic buy from Gazidis either, Perez as I said above… No trust from Wenger so of course Wenger was the one who wanted him =.=
Xhaka, yeah… Wenger is guilty of that one. Emery has picked him as a favourite as well…
Sven was the one who pushed for Mkhi instead of Martial who Wenger wanted.
Gazidis signed off on Ozil payrise.
We wasn’t going to get £60 million for Alexis fullstop.
When you going to get facts instead of BS?
90% of what you said was purely speculative BS in favor of Wenger.
Board panics and brings in Mustafi? Absolute horse ****. The board doesn’t give two ****s about players. The board allocates the budget. If the manager has 35m to spend on CB, then he has 35m to spend on a CB. And Wenger sanctioned Mustafis purchase. End of. Some donkey brains here said which class CB can you buy with 35m, you can buy plenty.
Its funny you say we couldnt have sold Sanchez for 60m because that was heavily on the papers. All these other speculations abour who Wenger really didn’t want, is also just on the papers.
All the panic buys caused by what? Wenger DITHERING. We never brought the players in time. Our board and staff are full of idiots but even they are not so stupid give zero budget on players and then suddenly “panic” at end of August and give money to buy crap.
Time goldens memories we say in my country. Now that Emery is not doing that well, the sheep are remembering Wenger as better manager what he was.
Wenger said: “as long as Im the manager, I’m in charge of the technical front.”
So we had a manager who had no say in the transfers for a decade?
mustafic was panic buy….
we had bfg and gabriel injured for more than 3 months
the only option was an inexperience chambers i think
you can search past archives and history on that season…..
@McLovin, if it was a result of Wenger’s DITHERING, how come the dithering hasn’t changed, now that he’s out? Denis Suarez deal has taken forever to negotiate…. Something is terribly wrong at Arsenal, so terrible that Sven had to leave after a little over a year. In my opinion, Wenger was just a tiny part of it.
Lol I hear people say Wenger was tactically stale and I laugh. I remember telling every football fan that cared to listen that Wenger wasn’t our problem, that Wenger had no funds to work with. Do you remember Wenger finished in the top 4 with Wilshere, Alex Song, and Fabregas in his midfield? With Denilson playing on the right wing? And our top striker was Adebayor? And on the bench he had Bendtner? Hahaha
I honestly feel like that man was unfairly treated, just when he started to have the right players, just when he could afford to bring in top players, we weren’t patient with him.
How are you forced to sell all your best players each season and still be expected to compete at the highest level. What manager would accept that? He did, our club was sinking but he steadied the ship.
I have no problem with bringing in a new manager, with bringing in new ideas. However, I expected more class from the fans. I expected Wenger to leave in a way that kept his honor in tact, in a way that’s befitting, like a legend that he is.
Gele, Arsene Wenger had the opportunity to “leave with his honour intact” after he had won the FA Cup; however he chose to sign an additional contract with a pay increase to £10 million per annum.
In any case he was given a good sendoff in recognition of his service?
Yeah we were wrong to want someone who recorded one of arsenal biggest loss 8 2 against man utd.
Hammered 10 2 on aggregate by Bayern
Lost 6 3 6 0 5 1 in a single season.
Someone who tied his hands when Chelsea came and surpassed us man city came and surpassed us Tottenham came and surpassed us.
Even he admitted that he stayed for long.
Oh the cheek with some of our fans?
Always new Kroenke and board were the underlying problem, but Arsenal had become stagnate under Wenger and his ideas. It’s early days for Unai but aside from having to wrestle with the tight arse moneyballer who rips team’s from the heart of their communities to different places all in the name of more profit he has brought a new energy and feeling about arsenal. We are no longer the push overs we were at the end of Wenger’s reign.
But yes, Wenger did wonders under thr self sustaining model constraints. But I do not miss him at all.
Big G makes a salient defence an argument, and certainly is entitled to his/her opinion with regards Arsene Wenger going stale, being stubborn and the current project requiring time and patience. All valid, if you take that point of view. However, in essence, it was the toxic minority, the YouTubers, with their weekly demand for change, their constant disrespect and lack of appreciation, deciding that 3rd or 4th,or last 16 of the Champions League was irrelevant, or winning the FA Cup 3 out of 4 years was of little consequence, that caused change….and change for the worse. Whether Emery eventually sorts it all out, organises, gets the players he wants in, the fact is, the philosophy, the style of play is the issue. Yes, Wenger and his squad became less competitive, more inconsistent, perhaps even on occasion, too easy to beat, but the style always existed. He never strayed from that belief. We always made bundles of chances, missed many, and perhaps got beaten on the break. Goalkeepers were always making saves. Now though? It’s side to side, dull, boring even. With the same players. Plus Emery has alienated the most progressive player in Ozil simply because he doesn’t run a lot. So what? So we have to endure Guendouzi, Iwobi, Elneny, Ramsey or whom ever simply because they run a lot, work a lot, but cannot create a single chance. We rely on the 2 strikers to do it, otherwise, we are watching Stoke in an Arsenal kit. This is what the YouTubers wanted..change…so live with it. For sure it takes time, I agree, but Arsene Wenger won the Double immediately, with a squad playing terribly, and as dull as it is to watch today. He instantly changed the philosophy, where as Emery has instantly regressed it back to those dull days, with long balls and playing like Stoke. So yes DT, Troopz, and all those idiots, who felt entitled, who never saw how truly useless we were in the 80s, with Lee Chapman up front, and only ever knew style and Wenger and became greedy with the ideas we were always that good…now you have to live with the poison you delivered, and should beg for the greatest manager we will ever have to return. Because forget finances and boardrooms, it is you that are the true poison and toxicity, so hopefully you all disappear into your YouTube holes and let the rest of us get on with true support and loyalty.
TL, haven’t seen you on here before, but like your response and the arguments you put forward to read and digest.
The blustering from both viewpoints become irrelevant, as does the actual topic though doesn’t it?
One could ask the question would we like George Graham to return or replace UE with Pep or klopp, it’s all hypothetical.
The author wrote this, knowing the reaction it would get.
Fans making lists of what was achieved and what wasn’t.
It isn’t going to change anything, just creates further tension amongst the supporters.
The sooner we get on with the present and stop looking backwards for comparisons the better in my opinion.
It was all so predictable what each single regular contributor would say and after all the opening up of old wounds, nothings changed.
AW has gone and UE is here.
I couldn’t be bothered to give my own views (, as it seems others spoke for me ), but they mostly concur with yours.
Just one difference, it was time for the great man to go, both for his and the club’s wellbeing and I don’t see any reason why he or the club would want to reverse that decision, but that’s my opinion.
That’s why it’s good to see posts from new contributers like Pharoah and (I believe) yourself, so I hope you will also be seen a lot more on here.
I also love the fact that both of you have no need to use capital letters to make your points so succinctly, a breath of fresh air.
One question; look at the quality of players Arsene Wenger inherited from Rioch and compare them to those he left?
Sheer fantasy, albeit with a surplus of commas! I did feel, even so, that your commas were more helpful than your words!
I read an interesting article regarding Bruce Rioch.When He was appointed to take over from Stewart Houston at the end of the 2004-05 season,(Houston being put in charge when George Graham was sacked mid-season),the mandate given to Rioch was to get European Football during his first season.He achieved this by qualifying for the then UEFA Cup (now the Europa League).He was sacked at the end of this season despite achieving his primary objective.Why?Because David Dein felt he could appoint someone better.The next season Arsenal Wenger became Manager and the rest is of course history.
To me that was a Proactive move by the board of directors.Why settle for someone who was just doing his job when quite obviously there was another Manager out there who could and did do better.
Wenger was never put under that pressure despite the obvious signs in his later years that there were better options out there who could have done the job better,proven with both Klopp and Pep becoming available.Would these two have improved us?I have no doubt.Would they have taken the job if offered to them?I believe they would.
Wenger outstayed his position for at least 5-6 years
.Some will point to 3 FA Cups.Most will argue about his 20 years of consecutive CL Qualification.MOST will recall the utter complacency Wenger allowed the Club to settle for.
If only the CEO had acted as Dein did and recognised what happening under an outdated and stale Manager and reacted sooner.We would no doubt be in a far better posiyas a Football Club than we are now.
Thank you Phil.
I have been using Rioch as an example of why we need to constantly evaluate Emery.
Started to feel like I am in my own bubble again as I kept being told to shut up and back Emery, we need to back Emery without question…
I was feeling alone in seeing how Rioch was removed because we had a CEO who had ambition and thought we could do better so he pushed to do better.
I do wish to point out though that Pep and Klopp have had better people dealing with transfers, City have the funds to make life easier while Liverpool have squeezed every penny out of big sales and used that wisely to reinvest in the squad.
We have had Gazidis bumbling around, a CEO who sold our future for short term gains, to help make Arsenal worth more and to get the old owners more for their shares. Gazidis is a share manipulation CEO, Silent Stan enjoyed the increase to Arsenal shares year upon year… I assume.
Now we have sen Gazidis run away after finally winning the battle against Wenger and what is he doing? Overseeing another sale of a football club.
I doubt either Pep or Klopp would be doing so well if they was backed by Gazidis, Klopp wouldn’t have VVD if he came to Arsenal… Like Gazidis would have sanctioned that much to spend on a CB lol.
Ivan Gazidis and David Dein should never be mentioned in the same sentence. I apologize for doing it!
Why ever shouldn’t they be ? God and the Devil have often been mentioned in thebsame sentence. For them , read Dein and Gazidis. I doubt anyone doubts which is which. If they do then they have real problems!
Delays in buying players made us to loose great players like CR7, van nistelroy , Herzard and even Aubameyerng who we could have bought at 9million later costed us six times .what a mess? Kroenke should stile up or we rally fans to leave the stadium for him and his familly.
And don’t forget Virgil Van Dijk while at Glasgow Rangers before he went to Southampton. How much did he cost Liverpool again?
head or heart
He doesn’t have a heart!
Perfect Jon, absolutely perfect!
Wenger was finished. He kept taking huge improved contracts even if he knee Kroenke and the lot were lying to us.
If he cared so much he woulf have protested. But he was part of the problem because he himself had gone stale, became stagant and dormant. The players he kept buying and the way he always converting players (playing players in their unnatural positions etc). Look at the poor players he left us with, wasted so much transfer funds and wages on okay to average players when he could have done better.
I was glad him and Gazidis left. Now Kroenke out followed by all the wenger deadwood / deadweights (players).
Haters of Wenger won. Wenger was not the problem of Arsenal. To cover what Emery is exposing, they forced him out. I have watched Arsenal play against PSG star studded, and against Emery at helm. We know the results. Some other time, it took the sending off ( manipulation) of Van Persie and Kolsieny for Barcelona and Bayern to advance.
Like or dislike, WENGER REMAINS ONE OF THE GREATEST.
The coaches who won more, virtually BOUGHT the trophies. But Wenger COACHED to remain in contention for many years.
Lol what a joke.
Stop clinging to the glory of his past when he’s on his prime. His time was up and should’ve been sacked sooner rather than later.
Look how different our approach last summer transfer session after Wenger regime, WE’D DONE BUSINESS QUICK AND BOUGHT PLAYERS EFFECTIVELY.
Need DM? Bought Torreira. Need talented CAM for regeneration? Bought Guendozi. Need reinforcement at the back? Bought Lichsteiner, Papa, and Mavro. And surprise, surprise, everyone is played according to their best natural position!
It’s just unlucky that our defenders keep being involved in weird accidents, get injured, and didn’t get the match result we wanted. Please, please, stop your Wenger shilling. It’s embarassing.
Arsenal need to strengthened the defence to complete with the other top five clubs. If Arsenal won’t finish in the top four unless Emery is given time and money to buy players. The league table don’t lie. Wenger in the top 4 year after year.
Wenger did a great job for Arsenal, but not the last 3-4 years, where we were on a constant downhill slide.
This has been halted now, but there is a long way to go get back to the top.
Dan Smith, you keep trying to put Emery down in a personal quest to redeem Wenger.
But What is the point?
Wenger had reached and age, where it was only a matter of very few years, before he had to be replaced, and there were absolutely no signs, he was going to improve us again.
So you might as well be relieved, we have replaced our greatest manager ever without any setback at all!
OT Sokratis is out for a month ?
Bloody nightmare Sue! Plus we aren’t getting Perisic either, inter want cash up front and we’re cash strapped ? can’t get any permanent signings or loan signings, it’s beyond a joke now! Totts 2 down and what a lovely pen from Trippier ?
At least his ankle is not broken but we do need him back ASAP as he’s a warrior. Not too worried about Perisic, he’s 30 next month and even Iwobi’s assist and scoring stats are better.
30 isn’t over the hill and he may just need a new challenge Declan! If Iwobi gets injured and the way things are going it’s very possible we have no natural wide men in the team! Defensively it’s grim! Mustafi looks to be the only fit CB and we play city next Sunday. Doesn’t look like Suarez is coming either!
I agree, I’m over the hill ? but he isn’t. I was rather saying about his age as they want £35 mil for him, aparantly.
Yeah but you could send him on his way at the end of the season ? it would be a better loan signing than kallstrom lol. Aha I was over the hill in my 20s I was more injury prone than Daniel Sturridge and Michael Owen combined ?
There is someone out there with worse stats than Iwobi?? ????
Shocking isn’t it Sue ?
That was a hell of a penalty John ?
Haha yeah he hit the corner flag I think ?
Come on Palace
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Thank you Palace ?? thank christ that’s over… listening to Chris Sutton commentating…. omg he’s sooooo boring, even worse than Owen & Mcmanaman & I didn’t think that was possible!!!
Are you watching Chelsea, John?
What channel is it on Sue, I was watching the Pal Totts game… I can’t stand him Sue talks as much c*ap as Tim Sherwood! And don’t get me started on Michael Owen ?
It’s on BBC1 and Alex Scott is in the studio… so you’ll be looking forward to half time ??
Sweet, I’ll turn it over at halftime ? I’d get rid of Chips Keswick and replace him with Alex Scott haha
Haha!! We’d probably be better off with her ??
Predator is playing for Chelsea (No 44!) ?
Listening to Danny Murphy talking about Poch & the spuds at half-time… ???
Haha ampadu or something ? ? Danny Murphy is a little slap head scally he should be running the magical mystery tour in Liverpool ? yes and Eva Carniero as team doctor ?
That’s him!! ?
Any others you’d like?! ??
What did you think of Higuain? Giroud must be gutted… then comes on & assists!!!
Haha brilliant ? Lauren Sessleman ?? typical Chelsea signing much like Shevchenko and Crespo ? haha Giroud is getting less game time at Chelsea’s bench than ours ? he looks like he lost weight too ?
She’s a lesbian ain’t she? ?
I wasn’t overly impressed with him… I love it when a player scores on their debut (Laca only took a minute!!) I guess at least they’ve got shot of Morata…
I was quite surprised Oli went to Chelsea… My nephew wants him at West Ham!
Is she ? what a waste ? Auba too ? they could do worse than big Oli ? he was just plain useless wasn’t he Sue ? He’ll probably be brilliant with Atletico ? there’s a great white shark thing on Nat Geo wild at 9 Sue ?
??? was joking, have no idea if she is or not!
He was…I don’t think the fans want him though, going by their chants!!
Ooh thanks John, will have to have a look!
Haha she’s too feminine to be a lesbian ? I think Giroud will be sold this Summer after Sarri’s sacked ? no problem Sue I remember you saying you like Sharks ? I caught a shark before deep sea fishing not a great white though lol a tope ?
I’d love to see a great white… saw whales in Tenerife ?? love dolphins too!!
Jesus was that scary?? They’re not overly big are they? That’d be better than just sitting there with your rod waiting…and waiting!!!
That would be amazing Sue ? what type of whale? No not at all their harmless to us unless you put you’re hand in its mouth but stingrays are a different ball game I’ve caught stingrays and they always make me nervous. Oh believe me Sue I’ve had many long hours waiting and waiting and waiting and getting absolutely nothing
Pilot whales… it was lush!!
Agree about stingrays & I bet Steve Irwin would too (if he was still here ?)
The sea scares me ? I can swim but I’m certainly no Michael Phelps!!!
Jesus Sue I’ve had some close encounters at sea especially rock fishing.. I was almost swept in when got hit with a wave had I gone in I would of been smashed against rocks and that would of been that! I fell into a freezing lake 2 years ago pike fishing had my foot trapped in water chest deep thought I was gonna get hypothermia! I take my daughter fishing she loves it but nowhere dangerous just for rainbow trout at stocked lakes. Orcas next Sue ? Oh yeah crikey that was terrible had it stung him anywhere else he’d still be alive, freak accident ?
Oh sod that… sounds like something out of the perfect storm!!
Well at least she likes a passion of yours.. pity it wasn’t Arsenal.. but you can’t have it all!! Orca’s will do nicely!! ?
So I’m seeing it may snow on Tuesday ? oh great… I’ll have my Ozil top on… reckon the people behind me will ask why I’m wearing it as he’s useless?? ?
At darts before a couple of men came up to me & said you’ve got sh*t on your top love… girls don’t like football, are you a lesbian, what’s the offside rule?! Sheesh mentality of 5 year olds ???
I don’t think it’s her passion she just gets excited seeing the fish wiggle it’s cute ? I’m a lone wolf when it comes to Arsenal Sue ? haha it wasn’t that bad thankfully ? you’d be surprised he’s still got a lot of fans ? it’s been a long time since ive had an Arsenal shirt with print on the back it was the blackcurrant shirt or burgundy with Bergkamp and I still have it ? deary me! There’s tons of female football supporters I doubt they’re all Lesbian ? bit of immaturity and too much lager Sue? ?
I remember that top well! My first had Petit on it ? ooh la la!!! I had the gold one too… they were so big back then, was like a bloody tent on me ?? got quite a few…. don’t usually have a name on it though (didn’t even have Podolski ?) my son has quite a few.. one even had Sanchez on it – needless to say that was binned ??
Haha yeah mine was a blue Nike one with Wright on the back ugly as hell but I loved it ? had the gold one too loved that one my favourite was the red O2 one 2002 ? haha had to be binned or burned Sue ? I must say I don’t like any of the puma shirts can’t wait until we go back to Adidas ?
I did like that red one too ? I don’t like this season’s home one & you know what I think of that green thing….. so yeah might be time to buy another next season ?
Well I think we’ve done our shift for Just Arsenal once again ? covering every topic imaginable (sorry Admin ?)
Have a good week at work & get rid of that darn cough!! And hopefully on Tuesday at 9.30pm we will all have something to smile about ?? COYG!!!
Hopefully Sue hopefully ? if Neil Warnock gets one over Emery it’s gonna be thanks for the memories Unai but it’s time to go ? Just Arsenal extra ? haha thanks Sue and God yeah! Enjoy the heat at work and your trip to the Emirates hopefully they perform for you and your Son? oh that mint fashion disaster that had to be some sort of joke ? take care Sue ?
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Thanks Palace for a wonderful day. God bless you and I hope you win the cup now. Great that the sainted “Poch” will get blamed from Spuds fans for leaving out Eriksen and Alderweirald and further weakening an already injury weakened team. Great Poch, thanks so much for your bad management.
4 days & out of both cups…. nice work spuds ?
i am lighting a candle right now in order that the frenchman who was sacked by our board is reinstated. surely the club cannot live without this saint .this post took a while to surface, i was wondering how long it would take.we cannot survive without the grinch, what will we do . he who looks like an undertaker is being lined up by hundreds of top world football clubs. lets hurry up and reappoint the skeleton.we are dooooooooooooooooooooooooooomed without him .
This fantasy article is just an excuse for the die hard and deluded Wenger fan club to claim he was wrongly sacked . These deluded diehards will never accept the plain truth that WENGER MADE SO VERY MANY MISTAKES OVER SUCH A LONG TIME THAT IT WAS A SCANDAL HE WAS NOT SACKED MANY YEARS BEFORE. These diehards , led by such as midkemma and Ken 1945 will never accept that WENGER WAS A DISASTER OVER MANY OF HIS LAST YEARS. I will NOW list just the worst of his myriad faults(I do not want to have to write a whole book, so some are excluded). No attempt to fill the decade long gaping hole at DM, save with poor players; a succession of duff CB’s brought in over almost all his entire reign, starting with Senderos and including such tripe as Schillachi, Djourou, Mustafi, Silvestre et al; keeping the Spanish waiter, Almunia, in goal for three whole lamentable seasons as first choice; no evidence of defensive coaching at all; not kicking WALCOTT OUT THE DOOR for a decade ; keeping a hospital, aka the treatment table, and “patients” on obscene pay to stay in hospital , like Diaby, Rosicky, Wilshere and others; overpaying a host of sub standard players and thus making it hard to get rid; Bendtner(nuff said); slave to the bl **dy 70 th minute for subs; wasting money on such as Elneny, Xhaka and Mustafi; embarrassing the club by never “seeing” refs decisions in our favour; constant blaming of refs when he was the one at fault by picking wrong teams; no attempt to get a proper winger after Arshavin left and treating him badly.; constantly playing some of his surplus of central midfielders out of place on the wing, instead of getting wingers; no account at all taken of how other teams set up and no tactical awareness at all; sending both full backs up field at once and general dreadful cover in defence for many, many years. Worse of all, not using hsi rightfully earned first decade success as a lever to force KROENKE TO PROPERLY FUND OUR TEAM. Wenger acceoted thrcorporate shilling willingly and lied for it. Not a “shilling” of course but around £9 mill a year to regress our club. Scandalous! I will stop the list there there as I am getting angrier by the minute just reminding myself of his awfulness.
Moving on, yes Emery has made mistakes BUT he has had NO TIME OR MONEY TO BRING IN HIS OWN PLAYERS and the little he was allowed HAD to be used to plug that vast hole at DM, with Torreira and shore up the keeper situation with LENO. WENGER, BY CONTRAST HAD 22 YEARS WITH NO TITLE CHALLENGE SINCE 2008 AND NO TITLE SINCE 2004. Emery has had 5 months!!! That is correct , you read it right. A measly five months only!!!!!
Yet Wengers fan club is out in force slaughtering a man who had had no chance, given the dross left behind, no real money to spend and a tsunami of injuries in defence worse than anything Wenger ever had to face.
Plain decency to an unfairly treated man , Emery, with a fine and RECENT CV( as in not 14 years ago, eh Wenger?) made me redress the balance of this dishonest article. I say dishonest, as I do not believe the writer is writing what he actually believes.
That some idiots still would like WeNGER BACK -i ignore the Devils advocate game played by Dan the article writer, as I do not for a moment believe he would have Wenger back- IS TOO STUPID TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. DAN IS MERELY LOOKING TO MAKE AN ARTICLE; ANY ARTICLE IN THE CASE OF THIS TRASH!
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nail on the head there jon, many times , well done .
Well said jon fox.
However, we can also be critical of Emery. This is his first season, but he hasnt taken us forward, yet.
I sincerely hope we have reinforcements incoming next week.
Did anyone see what Jonkers said about Wenger? How he, like other managers in PL as well, had no trust in youth players? Serge Gnabry is one prime example. Good thing we didn’t do that mistake with Nelson.
Why do our youngsters do so bad on loan? They don’t seem to get a lot of playing time.
Dan Crowley btw is doing well at Willem II.
McLovin, it is very hard to take Arsenal forward with Stan Kroenke as full owner and the terrible injuries Unai Emery has had to manage.
Starting the season with two CB’s Koscielny and Mavropanos out on long term injuries, then losing three players, Holding, Bellerin and Welbeck for the season plus and then the revolving door between the pitch and the treatment room through which so many players have been through this season.
In my 57 years of following the Arsenal, I can’t recall a season as bad as this and the Club is still top six. I am interested if jon fox, Ken1945, Phil and other long term gooners can remember a season as bad as this one for injuries, please?
ozzie, Straight answer is an unequivocal NO! But that NO doesn’t stop the stupid and unfair criticism of ” just 5 months into the job Emery” by some regulars on here who SHOULD know better.
as always, thank you for saying what needed to be said.
So, the Spuds have the greatest EPL manager, huh? Whatever the “reason”, the Spuds always take a dump and never win a damn thing, except the admiration of the mainstream media and its pundits. I know this is an Arsenal board, but let’s see if the heat is turned up on the Spuds and the Pooch like it is always raised regarding the Arsenal.
I am not unhappy the Prof is gone, it was past his time, however, even when he was being slated by the pundits and the fan-base, at the very least, one could count on a trophy more often than not . . . still waiting to see the Spuds and Poochy win “something”, beyond a$$-kissing.
All great men (and women) do their best work earlier in their life because later on in their life, they become more sincere to what others are yet to see and therefore success is seen more as maintenance of ideas then execution of dreams.
understanding this is understanding our ignorance.
A profound comment but based on an incorrect premise. Think Churchill, Col Sanders. In fact, many people throughout hstory have done great things sin later life. Many national leaders especially have done. Depends what you regard as young but I think that apart fron sporting activities where , if playing, relative youth is vital, sound judgement and wisdom is massively important and that generally comes with later age. Young people make far more life mistakes , so I profoundly disagree with you. Inventors, artists , musicians, doctors, law makers and scientists have done great work at all ages but for a President or PM, give me an older person every time. Wisdom out weighs energy in all save sporting spheres.
However WENGER HAD BECOME TOO CORPORATE MINDED AND TOO COMFORTABLE, RATHER AN JUST TOO OLD. He failed to keep ahead of fresh thinking but you cannot make a theory for ALL based on just Wenger.
Lets also not forget a younger successful Wenger was in his 50’s.
What he sees successful towards his later part of his career is deemed not by others while others may see it as full of achievements. We are yet to fully understand the restraints in which he worked in…and if we do, will we judge his work as a success or a failure?
Talent is ageless, as I said in my post above . Wisdom and judgement though, USUALLY comes with age and experience. Wenger though was a clear exception. I see his time as a Jekyll and Hyde analogy, each lasting approx a decade. History will see it likewise, imo.
To be clear , personally he was always and remains a thoroughly decent man, which in the great scheme of things I would suggest is far more important than just football. I say this, even as an admittedly football fanatic, but one who never forgets what really matters – and what , by comparison, does NOT matter. However, this is a Just Arsenal site and in that context I stand by every word I write about his managership.
I also do not agree that we have yet to fully understand his constraints. We were only too aware of them but some of us did not use these problems to excuse his many and constant Hyde era mistakes and foolishness. Others did. HENCE MY ONGOING DISAGREEMENT WITH KEN 1945 AND MIDKEMMA and others. C’est la vie!
not sure if you are still following this thread jon, but I can see your view. And its good that most can also see you have no issue with the man but the work (sometimes people can not separate the two when they discuss or listen to comments)
For me, Wenger in the Emirate years can be broken down to the era with the CL final team and the FA Cup team(s). In between we had the deadwood years and a restraint with our finances. In that period Spurs and Liverpool caught up with us while City had a new investor. We then became a club who had to fight for the top 4 then the league. Wenger was trying to build towards a title challenging team but again, we lost Sanchez. Only 4 players were brought above £30m in his time at the Emirates. Wenger made mistakes throughout his tender but it was more notable when there was more competition. I feel he did what he could with what he was allowed to do. We see today the restrictions with our budget. But the board can point to Not being a CL team for this, so it will be interesting to see when/if we are again, if we spend accordingly.
In the end, yes Wenger was trying to hold on to what was his twilight years with time against him. Everything needs to be done yesterday – such is the demand of our times.
Lets hope Emery gets the time he should!
WTF did I just read? Arsenal fans were not mocking Wenger at the beginning of his “let’s never fight for a league title again” strategy, but after 14 years of it…yeah I think we were allowed to demand better!
The writer forgets to mention the many negatives of Wenger as well as the positives…which isn’t a surprise! He and Gazidis cost the club around £140 million of potential earnings just on Sanchez, Ozil, and Ramsey alone!
But the narrative of this article is clearly…Emery is doing a bad a job, and Kroenke is evil. Well we all already knew that about Kroenke, after 11 years of it! But I cannot believe you’re judging Emery on just half season of dealing with the mess the previous regime left, a bunch of average players, and a crazy injury list!
Our defence is terrible…bring back Wenger, he’d never concede 5 to one of our rivals, or 8 in just one game! Shame on Emery!
???
Wenger had to go
Emery is better. At least he got Torreira. Wenger never would have got him
In fact he never would have got Guendozi either because defensive midfielders were never on his radar. He didn’t believe in defensive players (even Bellerin isn’t a true defender)
Even if we get rid of Emery this summer, he has at least improved US by getting Torreira and Guendouzi
Unai is just an average manager. he has always been and if by any chance you think he will take the club to the top you better analyse his past. he has amid table mentality. wake up an smell the facts. Wenger was tired so he had to go but to replace him with Unai is madness. what does he stand for? working hard? running all over the place? he could fit Everton very well.
I suggest you go and look at Emery’s track record before saying that! Apart from Spartak Moscow (which was a cultural issue more than anything), he’s been outstanding! Fact check first before saying these things.
?ThirdManJW, unfortunately some people don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. If Unai Emery is “an average manager” what does that make Ponchitino and Sarri, who are yet to win anything.
By the way Arsene Wenger is finally being touted for his next big job after Arsenal, managing Qatar.