Has the time come for Arsene Wenger leave Arsenal? by Demitri
Arsene Wenger was relatively unknown in England when joining, but quickly gained the respect of the players, coaches and pundits, as he led Arsenal to the Premier League and FA Cup double in his first full season in 1997/98. He revolutionised the modern game in the Premier League when joining Arsenal in 1996, becoming the first foreign manager to win the division, and has consistently kept the club in the elite competition of the Champions League. But his acceptance of fourth place every year has led to the demise of the club and the questionable showing of a lack of ambition created unrest with the Arsenal fans. Settling for Wenger’s self-titled ‘fourth-place trophy’ is not appealing to fans anymore, as the club that was once feared throughout Europe, has regressed to a shadow of its former self.
After winning the FA Cup last season, Wenger managed to bring his first piece of silverware to the club since 2005. Wenger has overseen the deterioration of Arsenal’s league form over the past 10 years and seen the club lose their most important players to rival teams and bigger teams, as he failed to hold on to them. The fans have had to settle for mediocrity for the past 10 years, as Arsene failed to lead the club to a trophy win between 2005 and 2014. Between these years, Arsenal have had 6 fourth place finishes and 3 third place finishes. Previous to this, Wenger only finished third in his first season, where he took over mid-season, winning the league 3 times and finishing second 5 times. Fans have been fairly tolerant over these past 10 years, but are now becoming more impatient, as Arsenal have finally left their transitional period after moving to the Emirates and dealing with the financial implications that brought to the club.
This season in particular, Wenger’s tactics have been exposed by oppositions and flagged up by pundits as easy to take advantage of. For example, in the Swansea game, Arsenal were 1-0 up in the 70th minute, yet Arsenal players were still pushing forward, including the full backs, as the defence was allowed to be easily penetrated, leading to a 2-1 comeback from the Swans. Arsenal legend, Lee Dixon, has previously said that Wenger “doesn’t particularly know whether the left back is in the right position or not”. Whether the comment was tongue-in-cheek or not, it still reveals Wenger’s lack of acknowledgment of defensive duties on the field. Wenger should call for the players to try and protect the 1-0 lead away at Swansea, and he should definitely not allow his defence to be exposed so easily. Some people view that Wenger stubborn traits have been the reason behind Arsenal’s lack of challenging at the top level and this is linked to the lack of addressing squad issues in the transfer windows. It has become apparent that Wenger has failed to replace leader and central midfielder, Patrick Vieira, after 10 years, and this summer he exited the transfer window with an obvious lack of central defenders.
Arsenal have not finished in the top 2 positions in the league since 2005 and some fans believe that Wenger is the problem and wish for him to resign or be sacked as soon as possible, as revealed in the banner shown at the West Brom this season. However, I believe that he needs to leave of his own accord and the manager needs to be given the respect that he deserves, as he has been successful at this club. Entering his 19th season at the club this August, Wenger needs to contemplate whether he is the right man to take Arsenal forward, as he cannot view himself as succeeding through fourth place finishes. At the end of this season, the board should propose the idea to Wenger that he should move ‘upstairs’ to the boardroom, like Sir Alex Ferguson did, allowing a new manager to come in and attempt to bring Arsenal back to the top level, where the club once was, not too long ago.
Demitri
Eh, while some are still in the process of “losing patience”, guys like me lost ours long ago!!!
Where’s ma patience, Arsene? I lost it with you, Monsieur!!!
i didn’t have patience in wenger……. So i have nothing to Lose
i have ZERO patience left and that’s exactly what I want in our Phisio room.
Good people do you even use ur brains when analysing the situation at arsenal before u start “Losing patience”. or do you just choose to ignore vital facts like:
In 2012 when carzola joined arsenal for a mere 16 million, he was arsenal’s record signing. That means all these years, Wenger was given a task of winning the BPL with virtually nothing to buy quality players with…he had to create them himself. can’t he get some credit for that?
how do u expect any manager to win the BPL when he can only afford cheap and crappy players like chamakh, squillaci, santos, arshavin, bendtner, djouru, denilson, etc?…while competing against teams that had record signings of over 50 million? add to that the fact that the best players he develops from nothing (RVP, cesc, nasri, clichy) keep forcing their moves away from the club.
It was only recently that the financial constraints were over, however there’s another problem that we are facing currently – injuries. can you guys believe that even to this day we haven’t been anywhere close to playing our best players together this season.
@ GUNNERPHYTE it’s time to stop indulging the Man. He’s been given a free pass for too long plus 8M per year, more than any other Coach in Europe, it’s time for Le Prof to deliver the NO money excuse is no longer valid, Injuries…. well someone needs to look into why we have so many.
No Tactics, No needed Transfers. No Creativity, Favoritism, NO Accountability, Fcku Yeah WE LOST PATIENCE
@MIA
yeah the no money excuse may not be valid now because the money is now “available”… but it was only 2013 when that was declared by the board. so from 2013 till now can you really say there’s no real good transfers? we needed to strengthen the attack, he got ozil, welbeck n sanchez, he upgraded the defence with chambers n debuchy. The problem with you ppl is that you think this is fifa manager mode where u can just get any player u dream of. This is real life, so quit hating the manager for not complying with your rediculous and ignorant fantasies.
Right now the only thing ruining this season for us has been the injuries, and its very stupid to ignore their impact and blame the manager instead. if he gets to have a fully fit squad or close, and then goes on to perform poorly then it would be understandable to want him out. until then, its just shows lack of common sense for people to be hating on him like this.
@ GUNNERPHYTE I respect your opinion and your faith in WENGER, unfortunately don’t share your enthusiasm when it comes to defend him for his mistakes that he repeats year after year. This is not about LOVE or HATE I don’t hate the man neither love him, used to admire him though, unfortunately and this is an undeniable fact, he has lost the Compass, is not just about the transfers, POOR TACTICS, FAVOURING PLAYERS that underperform, believing he can switch Players from their natural position, POOR RESULTS against TOP CONTENDERS ( while Newcastle, Sunderland, SPUDS and other bottom feeders made MAUREEN look helpless) I did not wake up one morning realizing all these facts, this has been happening for years now and his results are the proof that he either change or he should retire honorably and let AFC start a new era post WENGER.
I agree with some of what You said, but hey most of the debt is cleared we got the new stadium and yes Arsene now may afford buying better players.
But please also understand when we let good players leave because of our strict wages system (no really outstanding salaries for even our best players) we had been wasting like 300-350K every damn week to keep the likes of Park, Chamakh, Bendtner, Squillaci, Denilson or Santos warming the bench or – what’s worse – f*cking the game up on the pitch.
Using that sum to keep RVP and Nasri here would have been a lot better.
@jb29
I dont remember Arsenal putting the likes of RVP, nasri, cesc, clichy, sagna etc on the transfer list. they refused to sign new contracts and as a result, Wenger was forced to listen to offers for them. there’s nothing any manager could have done really…
And as you say, if he had sold chamakh n bendtner to finance a new contract for RVP, what would have happened when RVP got injured…do the math.
@Gunnerphyte
Do the math? Why have one of the highest paid managers in the world without the brief to even win the English Premiership. And as for Wenger himself, he seemed really happy that the stadium was self financed as it took all the pressure off him to actually win anything. Usmanov would have financed the stadium and Arsenal could have gone on winning major trophies, what was wrong with that solution? As for Van Persie, Nasri and Fabregas leaving they knew that they would never win a major trophy again under Wenger and in fact they were proven correct as each won a league title which they would never have won if they had stayed playing under Wenger. Go figure!
@Gunnerphyte:
Nasri admitted he would have stayed should had he been handed a contract granting the appropriate wages. RVP might have been a bit different case but paying him what he makes now at manure now could have nailed it. This is clearly Wenger’s and the board’s fault. Remember we almost lost Walcott because of all this penny pinching.
You have a great player start negotiating a new deal TWO seasons before the actual contract’s expiry – just like most normally run clubs do – and regroup resources by getting rid of deadwood in time.
Talk about beating a dead horse. Damn, do you want to have this discussion everyday?
Crying in your pink undies “Wenger out” for the next two YEARS will wear down even the brain dead. You are bypassing even the weeping weepies at LeGrove with the crying and complaining.
I suggest you go back to transfer fantasies!
don’t worry about those who survive these trying times….. Worry about yourself and how miserable you would be when ur daddy will nolonger be a arsenal Fc…… PLastic follower of delusion
It’s funny some fans don’t see why Wenger is the highest paid manager. It’s very simple indeed. Other managers SPENT. Wenger EARNs a lot of money for the board. His salary is nothing compare to the money he has earned for this club. So keep posting these articles day by day, as long as American still owns this club, Wenger will still be here.
American don’t like football in general. They are here to do business. Arsenal is doing business very well.
Grass is not greener on other side my friends!
No it’s Blue at the moment
london is red sky is blue oh my wenger when u will leave.
So what does the impatient fan do? Jump up and down scream for AW’s attention and when that doesn’t work, go on the internet and rant in forums for him to be ousted.
And when all else fails, you sit back, stick your thumbs in your mouths and f**kn deal with it for the next 2+ years…LMFAO
He ain’t gonna last 2+ years unless he wins something and stops managing like a deranged monkey and actually wins something like a league/UCL.
even the BOARD will get BORED with 4th or below.
@arseovertit
According to you guys, the board only cares about”profit”…
Make up your minds.
And trust, he will be here until his contract runs it’s course…
Get used to it or move on…
@NY_GUNNER
‘You guys’. I am not one of your collective guys’.
Yes the board/Kroenke can’t see beyond the £ and have little ambition but as I said even they will at some point realise that it’s more than a business (its performance and winning things that make great clubs).
As for get used to it or move on. Why don’t you jog on. I’ve been a Gooner for 32 years and am not about to throw the towel in because you suggest I do so and I’m not happy in watching this creeping malaise that has changed my club.
Arsenal FC was here first and it will be there after Wenger. The sooner the two part company the better.
And I believe it will happen before his contract to deliver mediocrity expires.
About time.
@arseovertit
I could care less how long you been a Gooner dude. Every football club competing is a business. The owners and managers as well as the players all know this. You don’t like AW, fine. You probably only did when he was winning.
And as long as you spout the same “ish” as the rest of the disenchanted fools you’ll be considered as one of then.
As I’ve stated many times before. I support AFC. And whoever rolls in RED&WHITE regardless if they’re living up to my expectations of them or not. I ain’t about to sh*t on em just because things ain’t looking as good as I’d wish either. I take the bad with the good…
Thats called loyalty.
I call it blindly following.
BTW I’m not shitting all over the club. Kroenke and Wenger did that already.
@arseovertit
Yet you believe in god and never seen him/it. Only heard fables about him/it. That my Gooner, is blind following. Know the difference…
@NY_GUNNER
Where did I say I believe in God exactly!?
Do you work for the Daily Star?
So you started supporting Arsenal in 1983. For the 33 years prior to that we had won the league once and picked up 2 FA Cups. We were off the map in terms of club wealth rankings and global brand.
I mean, how did you survive or were you Don Howe out from day one?
What exactly is he moving “upstairs” for ? Arsenal isn’t his inheritance. He should leave, go buy a villa in Monaco or whatever but he must just stay away from the club.
Ha ha ha.” Upstairs” is a nice way
of saying Fu#k off old Cu#t.
Arsene won’t fall for that one.
Besides you can’t sack Arsene. Wenger owns Arsenal FC 🙂
He is manager for life.
Buys two kids this week then buys Varane and Pogba next week.
Thats how Arsene rolls.
I am king of the Arsenal you’re the dirty rarsekills 🙂
And when we beat City tomorrow
I will extend my contract an extra 200 years 🙂
i’ve past the stage of putting bLind faith in a scumbag of a manager…….AKBs thumb me down 4 all you want…….i’m only speaking my mind
17 yr oLd beilik…..15 yr oLd graciar ……… Is Arsenal fc a Kindergaten or a playground for kids? …….and don’t get it started by stating that fabregas was 17, giggs was this….. How old was eisfield, olsson, afobe et al when we sold em?…..what happened to their acclaimed potentials?…..If AFC ain’t all bout business transactions, buying and selling, increasing marginal income, then what is?
How are YOU going to fire Wenger?
You own shares? You have Kronke DNA?
Are you on the Board?
What can you do? Twitter yourself into a coma?
You are an exercise in frustration. Ever thought of becoming a Leeds fan?
We are the FIFTH richest club in the world and on this fact alone we deserve better!
Guardiola please!!! (Greener grass)
You wanted Klopp last month. What happened?
@ArsenelsYourDaddy (are you a typo)
Show me where I said I wanted Klopp or crawl back under your rock!
….and Martinez before that. Think he riding the Koeman/Simeone bandwagon at the moment.
No sure how many times this needs to be said but we are the 5th most VALUABLE football business in the world. And have a guess why that is the case because we were not anywhere near that before say 1996. We are not the 5th RICHEST football club. If you can’t understand that distinction then you really should not attempt to argue on some of the more complex issues. If AFC sold off its entire business, liquidated its assets and cashed out completely the cash raised would be a small fraction of the lose change down the back of Abramovich’s sofa. And the lose change down the back of the Mansour’s sofa could buy 50 Abramovichs.
All this talk of moving him up stairs I was all for 5+ years ago but I now feel if he was to be moved he’d interfere to much and the new manager would be a puppet of Wenger. When Wenger goes it needs to be for good or a long period of time to let the new manager settle in and the team to adjust to the new guy
DO NOT MOVE HIM UPSTAIRS………..MOVE HIM SIDEWAYS …… L()L
Did you all notice in his press conference he used the word “specialist in” more than 2x? I bet you there were wry smiles all over the room as he failed to mention the other word “FAILURE”, which he has been over the past 10years! Any other Manager even at a quarter of his present salary would have been sacked just after half these years!!!
By the way, you AKBs please don’t now point to me the success of the Emirates Stadium. You can glory all day in that structure but I want to glory in trophies! Like most of you here have already alluded to, he MUST not be allowed anywhere near our grounds when he leaves (hopefully at the end of this season- please I pray God), but packs his bags off to the rich man’s resort of Monaco from where he can send us a postcard now and again. The man is a joke!!!
BIG TIME JOKE…….and he’s wasting our years
@ssopaaeon
No, you’re wasting your years. Stop deflecting…
His favourite word ever is ‘POTENTIAL’!
Meaning close but no cigar..
Says it all.
@darlingbudsofarse
You must have had a good “pull” after that one…Lol
Like i stated, Row with ya fellow AKBs to perdition……we ain’t on the same boat
I’d bet the response from most folks logging on to this site – whether they want Wenger in or out or something in between – was a collective groan at seeing this article. Demitri, you’ve written some good articles but with respect, this ain’t one of them. Flog and dead horse come to mind.
I’m getting really sick of all these fickle fans. Support your team or gtfo and go support the spuds!
That is all.
Shut up muppet who are you AW’s brown shirt brigade.
‘Love our leader or leave’
Pathetic.
did I say “love our leader?”
I said support the TEAM, the entire TEAM. You’re exactly the kind of person I’m talking about
How many times have you seen someone on this site bash Szczesny, Monreal, Gibbs, Giroud, Mertesacker, Wilshere, Need I go on? I’m not saying our team is perfect but if you call yourself a “fan” get behind the team when they need it the most instead of b*tching and bashing them every chance you get.
FYI I do support the team (for me this is AFC and not the business hence I do not buy merchandise and can rarely afford to visit the Emirates) and do not bash them at every opportunity. I wish the ‘team’ every success but cannot stay silent while it seems AW has carte blanche and never seems accountable for his action/inaction.
I speak my mind (sometimes against sometimes for) when I don’t/do not like what I see happening to my club..that’s all.
That’s fair, I personally don’t live in Europe, although I have visited the emirates once before. Nothing wrong with having an opinion, I am just tired of seeing fans flip flop on players (usually negative) and the team overall.
I can understand the complaints with Wenger, I have a few of my own, but as long as he is our manager of Arsenal, I will support him.
And I will support the men he puts out on the field.
You are not supporting arsenal, you are over pampering your manager, no wonder he lost his ambition.
Wenge = dictator
WOB = baggers (trophy)
In every empire, what did dictator do to bagger, ignore them and live their own luxury life. Thank god this empire is going at down fall and democracy begin.
lol i’m not supporting arsenal based on what exactly?
@ Shah Of Arsenal: Please be ready to carry a sick bag every Saturday or Sunday as our criticisms of WENGER will continue until the man does the decent thing!
I still love arsene for trading is on field achievement for arsenals good financial background…. and one thing I also respect about him is that if he leaves the club today or anytime he would have left better than sir Alex Ferguson cos the arsenal team won’t need excessive millions to put the squad back in shape like in man Utd…. but my problems with him now is I don’t understand how an old man like him could be that stubborn…. b4 the transfer window opens here is the man waxing lyrical about us needing defenders and it’s 2 weeks into the transfer window and all we are hearing is about is normal kid signings….. can someone please tell him we need wanyama type of a dm… a bully that’s what we need and a better cb than bgs (big German snail) and arsenal is good to go….. just two players that’s all…. so much for making shcezny the scapegoat of our defense…. if he can bench shcezny then bgs should not be in the club judging by performance this season….. and one last thing….. can the fans in England pls remind wenger that 2 sub should be made within the 1st minute and the 80th minute of the game and reserve the last one in case of injury towards the end of the game…. bye and sorry for the long post….. so much for wanting to post for years and a first timer
Ran out of patients with him after “he” got us that 8 – 2 thumping by ManU how long ago now. He should of gone then. Tired of him making us a laughing stock. Couldn’t even get it up for his 1000’s game in charge. Thumped again by Chelsea. Wenger out!
wenger has lost his tactical nous..
If you haven’t already lost patience with Wenger then in my opinion you don’t love Arsenal
#MYOPINION.
Extremely dodgy and dull logic there mate. So the only way someone can love Arsenal is to hate on Wenger? Luckily for us your opinion doesn’t count for much.
This question is asked every week but in different wording.
I would say most Arsenal fans have lost patience but only approx half (maybe more) want Wenger out. Because of that and the money Arsenal earns, Wenger will stay for at least 2.5 seasons
4th place will be enough for him to keep his job and because of that Wenger won’t feel pressure and will continue his stubborn, cheap ways for another 2.5 seasons
I wish I were wrong. I want us to get a Top defender, Top striker and Top DM and win lots of trophies. I hope Wenger will somehow see the light
If AW goes up stairs he will still pull the strings of any manager coming in. Atbh look at man united lol the cash they have spent and still can’t produce week in week out. Fine line this so I day COYG COZ I LOVE MY CLUB
stop crying about Wenger not spending ….its our money guys and he is using it in the most correct way. you can’t blame him for nt spending examples: he activated Suarez’s release clause which was a significant amount. he signed ozil fr almost 50 million. he signed sanchez fr a bargain prize..what more do you’ll want.he got us through to the champions league in the most difficult times. we r lucky to have a manager who defines what top level management is. And its shameful to right such comments and call urselfs arsenal fans.