When Arsene Wenger announced his decision to part company with Arsenal, all the players made wide-ranging statements about how they were upset to lose their father figure who has given every single one of them the chance to play at the highest level under his tutelage.
But the fact is that the team hardly looked like they were playing for the manager any more and the lacklustre performances, especially away from home, made it look like they has little interest in trying their hardest for the Boss any more despite the utterances coming out of their mouths.
According to our new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the players are actually excited to see a new coach come in as it was obvious that the club was stagnating under Wenger. He told the French media channel RMC: “I think it’s a little bit of a mixed feeling in fact.
“On one hand, it’s strange for all the fans that the coach has left. But it’s definitely a fresh start.
“Since over the last few seasons – you have to tell the truth – the club has stagnated a little bit, I think everyone is actually a little bit excited to see what happens next season.
“It is strange that the coach has left after 22 years. But that’s life – we have to look forward.
“It’s going to be a new start so we’ll have so we’ll have to see how it goes… everyone will have to get it into their heads that we have to work hard to rival the best.”
Our amazingly bad record away from home after Christmas certainly would make it look like the players were helping the club to realise that they had stopped playing for Wenger, and were actually keen to see the back of him so they could start moving forward again.
Do you think that, like the fans, they realised that they had to help Wenger on his way out the door?
Darren N
Let’s get one thing straight-Wenger didnt leave he was SACKED.He was SACKED due to proving his tired outdated and prehistoric methods were found to be unacceptable any longer.He had overseen a downward spiral that was never going to improve with him in charge any longer and he paid for this with his job.Aubamayang would have known what he was signing up for.There is no way the question would not have been asked by either him or his agent as to who was going to manage the Club long term.I believe the players knew the writing was on the wall for Wenger and I’m not too sure many of them were too concerned.These are professional sportsman.They need challenges and to be challenged.They would welcome the new Manager to bring the change needed
He left.
He wasn’t sacked.
TBH Phil, a LOT of what you say is BS, ignorant rambling and I am calling you out on it now.
Do you even know what sacking is? IT IS NOT QUITTING ON YOUR OWN ACCORD.
You talk about Auba but Auba said he thought Wenger would be here for years to come, claiming Auba what he would have known what he was signing up for yet Auba has said himself that he thought Wenger would have stayed.
There is a terrible smell when you talk, almost like you are talking out of your ARSEnal.
You are wrong. All things point to the fact that AW was informed he would be sacked, if he didn’t go by himself. You can call it a respectable sacking if you want. But a sacking it is.
Even a moron with no sight and no hearing should know he was sacked. He was told his services would no longer be required after this last season. That is a sacking , in any SANE persons reckoning. Given his own way, WENGER WOULD HAVE STAYED TIL, HIS DYING DAY, AS WE ALL KNOW. Except you!
Hehehe he was sacked, he’s gone please stop backing him up, wait till he gets another team then go back him there. At Arsenal, he’s gone, SACKED. He always respect his contracts so it’s obvious only one thing happened. Deal with it man
Forced to announce he was leaving end of season while he has one more year left, yes thats the sacks whether you agree or not – also in other language his contract was terminated
I don’t really think they were playing to help him out. Arsene had lost his touch really.
Now, we will see the players that really are good and the others. We are starting afresh and I believe we will have a good era
Do we need to look behind these much? It’s useless. They must look and concentrate for future. Up ward
and on ward.
At some point, Wenger was gonna leave…
In my opinion, he is a great manager that did a lot for the club especially in his first decade..I became a fan in 2000 because of the way Arsenal play and loved players like Henry, kanu, Wiltord, bergamp, Lauren, pires and the likes..
However, after 2006 the club didn’t improve a lot trophy wise. We had some great results and some hammering given to us we won’t forget in a hurry.
Glad we have a new manager but also acknowledged what Wenger has brought to the club.
Time to move on and support the new manager in Unai Emery. I m looking forward to the season to see what it bringssssssss.
#ArsenalForever!
most are probably not cause they just had to show up to get their paychecks. Now they actually have to try and aren’t guaranteed starting spots for poor performances. Winners like Aubameyang are happy though.
Wenger leaving will leave the players feeling like its a freshstart to show what they can do as Asrene always restricted what players did in a match & where their best position was by playing them in positions they were not bought for, example, Xhaka isnt a great defensive minded midfielder though the lad passes forwards & has a shooting range that is a great trait bt was told to cut it all out to keep the ball by sideways passing & trying to walk the ball in the net instead of having a pop on goal when the chance arrived.
Ramsey will be the same,attacking minded, better at AM if im honest. If Ozil doesnt buck up the Aaron should take that role. Wenger had ramsey in every position in the midfield/forwrd line.
Change will always change a players prospective as to how mich effort they are going to put in for the new coach, so whoever doesnt want to pull their socks up & play 110% everygame/training then they will be know that the writing is on the wall just like Arsene. Change is good.
WARNING
Real life is not FIFA!
Lot s of ramsey lovers would like for Ozil to vanish that their golden boy can take his place. Just kid s dream that is… and very stupid and delusional one.
If Ozil vanishes somebody else much better then rasmey will take his place.
Ramsey can have “his” no. 10 shirt and position at Stoke!
and Yes, if someone is not happy for Wenger sacked that should be Mustafi, Xhaka, Welbeck and King Ramsey.
I think ramsey could be q very good n 10. And maybe u can give q little credit for him, maybe he is not world class, but he has been one of ouer most inportant players in last years…i think only alexis has been more important
Wenger should just move on…..his team will be dismantle soon….
if he wants to move to a rival club.. he should do it
Be great if many people oh here could also move on, rather keep going back to the same subject.
I think Arsene would be better served as a presenter. His deep understanding of the game would make for good listening.
The hardworking, ambitious ones are happy
The lazy ones are not happy
Plain and simple!
True dat
Let us be honest with ourselves, as good a coach Wenger was, a good father figure, a moralist, a passionate individual, a builder, a mentor, very intelligent, etc. I have an amazing assessment of him, but very stubborn! Stuck to his way of playing football even when it was evident it wasn’t working. I assumed if he had allowed someone with the experience of modern of the game to help with his coaching system while he remains the manger, we would have had a different experience. I have an uncle who refuses to use sat nav to find his way around please he as never been to, instead he sticks to his old methods of finding his way. At the end of the day he waste time, petrol, emissions, energy and no one wants to ride with him. Changing times demands changing methods. So no player with an upward movement will not be happy with Arsene Wenger’s exit.
The last 7 years of Wenger’s
reign were sheer drudgery.
Never seriously threatened to win
the PL and ECL usually ended with
a punishing loss in the round of 16.
The players were generally mediocre some plain awful
while the football involved slow sideways passing the ball to death.
Board and fans acquiescing to the Owner + Manager’s 4th place model
gave rise to the passionless the spineless 7 even 10 years of mediocrity.
Excuse me if it takes me a couple of years to forget.
but I am not alone because in the same period 75% of the Arsenal fan base
lost themselves in invincible nostalgia to help numb the pain
of the dross that passed for AFC these past ten years.
At least now we have hope again.
I should hope the backroom staffs proves us right by improving their financial constraints which has oftenly been played down,making wenger the skapegoat.
I’m more relieved than happy because his position was hopeless and he appeared to be hanging on for the sake of it. I have always supported Arsene Wenger for what he did for our great club but just wished he had left on his own terms after the last FA Cup win. The club are actually to blame by offering him a 2 year extension which, being a football addict, he just could not refuse.
Anyway it is now water under the bridge and if he was to return to the club in an ambassadorial capacity, I, for one, would not complain. A bit unlikely though!!
I actually blame Gazidis for being a weak and spineless CEO, specific part of the club 🙂
Gazidis wanted Wenger gone and we can see from reality that Wenger went above Gazidis to get his deal from Silent Stan, since Gazidis got embarrassed like that then he actually started to change the structure to force Wenger out.
Gazidis could have done this nearly a decade ago…
A decade ago…
What I find appalling is how Gazidis didn’t release any funds for Wenger in his last window of having a say, he only got Laca and then AFC made most of that money back from selling players… Gazidis was saying that we all can see AFC accounts and ALL of it is available to the managers, even Wenger. Strange when Ken Friar confirmed that Wenger would be told he had X amount and Wenger never complained, acted like a real gentleman… No real gentleman for us fans though as he should have pushed for more… but he did get a good wage to take the blame. Gazidis has tried to say that Emery will get full access to AFC accounts yet we are also reading how the manager will be restricted on how much he can spend… Lies, damned lies.
Man, this info sounds like it’s made up. Hehehe just rest it man, Wenger was ridiculous and we are all happy that’s he’s gone ?
Good article. Yes the players knew and were tired. RE: Aubameyang, Mkhytaryan and Mavropanos must have ALL known he’d be gone. Mkhy likely only joined because he knew P-E.A was coming. If you recall, he was initially NOT happy joining us – also AW was pushing for Martial instead! P-E.A probably came because his agent had reassurances that AW was gone or going at the latest the following season when the 2 year contract ended – otherwise why would a £60m attacker come to us in the state we were in? Mavropanos was not AW 100%, which is why he got 3 games ONLY at the end once AW had made ‘his’ announcement.
This is not painful to say. As much as I respect AW and what he did for the club, post David Dein, he took on too much in an ever expanding business size and role, that he was unable to master – he spread too thin. A genius at the start; it was amazing (and at times lucky) that he qualified for top 4 so many years, but the truth outed these last two years and the Board had already started the process of change in Nov 17 when Mislintat & Ranllehi were appointed in preparation.
Critically, if he qualified for CL in the top 4, AW would likely have been allowed to honour his contract, but the minute he was too far behind in the league (by feb 18), the club probably made the right decision to ‘help’ him.
Brilliant decision. Anyone criticising the Board need a long hard look at themselves. How would you handle an 10 year serving manager (at the time) with so much control, out of the club, when he is qualifying in the CL every year! Their hands were tied and AW had more years service than any of the Board put together. The Kroenke Family have not waved a magic wand for their wealth – achieved through hard work, diligence and patience. This NEW manager appointment is the first time we have seen the Board operate and I believe they are excellent custodians, as well as the sacking of the AW backroon staff, the clearout already commencing in Jul 17 and Jan 18, and the Borrusia Dortmund connection. This is excellent, quiet, backroom management of the highest order.
As a final point, anyone winning over Peter Hill Wood who initially stated “we dont want Kroenke’s money and we dont want his sort” later stating ” I think he (Kroenke) will be a good addition (to the Board). He seems to have been very sensible”, speaks volumes about the Kroenkes and how they do business.
Some Arsenal Fan TV commentators have uttered Kroenke banners will be next.They had better think twice about that.
I cannot wait for the future. Looks beautiful.
There was no way Sanllehi was going to work with wenger and he confirmed that during AST meeting with Gazidis presence that, more changes were coming – that statement i took as wenger days were numbered
I was unaware that Sanllehi said that. Your interpretation was on point.
The players played, they didn’t just drop tools like Chavski did when they wanted Jose gone, they dropped tools… Home or away.
If you think players are going to be like “Oooh, home we will win but away we will play poor to get the boss sacked” then they need their head checking.
Word which explains what has happened to Arsenal.
Entropy.
“Lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.”
At one time you could predict that our defence wouldn’t concede a goal, the old chants of 1-0 to the Arsenal is proof of this.
Then it got worse, it got to the point where we may concede a goal but we will score more and still get the point. 1-0 or 3-1… less predictable.
See the progression?
Finally it progressed to the point of not knowing if our def will deal with attacking movements, will this one result in a goal? I don’t know.
Wengers putting the def as a thing which we only need to do without the ball and if we have the ball all the time then we never need to defend, no need to spend time on def training…
That is a LOT more likely to be the reason for the progression that has happened then the players… What? Flipped a coin to see if it was the home games or away games they would lose?
I think they are. The lack of competition makes the players lackadaisical towards matches. We need to be a competitive again. Chase trophies
I just well come the new coach and am happy
what I know ? % is that if Arsenal remove those players who just train to play the next game not having mentality to shake atrophy and bring at least 5 strong and talented players then for sure all the fans will be happy
Atleast now we have people in place who can go out negotiate, push the deal on and close.