Arsenal greats urge Wenger to reconsider new contract

The timing of the talk about Arsene Wenger getting a new Arsenal contract could hardly have been worse, on the back of a title ending defeat by Chelsea that looked so simple for the Blues that the Gunners have been compared to youngsters kicking a ball about with the big boys in the playground.

The loss also ended any slim hopes we Gooners were hanging on to about our Premier League title challenge this season/ And the timing of it has most of us experiencing the cold shiver of deja vu and expecting the end of our EPL hopes to be followed by an early exit from the Champions League.

The Chelsea loss was not all that unexpected to be honest, but coming after one of our worst performances in recent years that saw Watford take all three points off us at the Emirates, it has really raised the Arsenal fans’ anger levels once again.

Then we see an Evening Standard report in which our former player Martin Keown, who still has good links to the club and so is probably well informed on the matter, reveals that Wenger is likely to be offered and to accept a new deal as the club has no contingency plan in place and the Frenchman himself is the one who will decide when he goes.

He said, “They’re going to want to have a run-up to a succession plan at Arsenal Football Club and that will mean Arsene Wenger signing a new deal. I don’t know if that sits completely well with the fans.

“If you look at other situations, Manchester United losing Sir Alex Ferguson, I believe he’ll sign a new contract. It’s just really the announcement. When is the right time?

“Of course he needs to continue to do well enough to stay in the job. If he gets in the Champions League once more, wins a trophy… I know people are dissatisfied with that and feel change is necessary.

“But it could also go completely the other way if Arsenal were to leap now and make a big change. It sits with the way he is as a manager to see the job through to the end of the season and I do see him signing a new deal. That will be the last one and Arsenal will be looking to make a plan in that period.”

I get the impression that Keown does not exactly agree with the plan and is perhaps suggesting that his former boss should make his move earlier. That feeling comes across even more clearly in the words of two other former Gunners Ian Wright and Ray Parlour in an another Evening Standard report.

Parlour said, “You’re always going to have some fans who want a change and look, Arsenal football club is a huge club, and nobody is ever bigger than the club and Wenger’s been a fantastic manager but you’ve got to get the right man into place.

“If the right man’s out there, then yeah [go for them], but that’s the problem you have. The top managers are all taken and all have very good jobs at this minute.

“David Dein was always the man [with the knowledge] at Arsenal but he’s no longer there. He was the instigator getting Wenger into the club – and that’s a big question for upstairs – who’s the man to bring in a new manager? Because you have to look at the options out there.

“The defending wasn’t good enough [against Chelsea] and that’s them out of title race, and now they’ve got to worry about making the top four.”

Wrighty said, “Does he still have the stomach to do this again? It is a tough couple of months for Wenger, and Arsenal are doing what they do when they slip up.

“Arsenal are in the top four, but they aren’t winning the league.

“Wenger has some really serious thinking to do at the end of the season.”

Do you also get the impression that these club greats are urging their former boss to call it a day? Will he listen?

Bob.

6 Comments

  1. It’s funny that many so called experts, and AKBs, suggest that the grass isn’t always greener. If we get rid of Wenger, who could replace him? So who could replace a manager that has only won two FA Cups in 12 years? I’m sure there’s hundreds of managers out there that could have won more over such a long period.

    At the end of day, none of us can look into the future. Wenger could leave, and we win the league, equally, we could end up finishing sixth. No one knows! Personally I think we will improve given the quality of the squad, and the finances. We’ve been nowhere near the top for years, and I think the club has the potential to get there. Going back to what I said about the future – all we can do is make judgements on what we definitively know as of now, and that is that Wenger has under performed for a very long time, even when given the finances. Nothing has changed! So clearly, Wenger needs to be removed for the club to have any chance of moving forward.

    1. Two words from me.
      Wenger Out!
      Enough is Enough! Let him not take the path of the renowned dictators of the world who want to stay in office until they drop dead..
      Fresh impetus is needed in the Arsenal like yesterday.For the sake of fans who pay through their noses to watch and keep the Arse afloat.I mean why be in a competition where you plan not to win the trophy (ies).

  2. Today we are no longer a top 4 shoe-in. Chelsea looks like they will win it all and they do have a better manager then us. Manchester City have Guardiola, who will come good in the EPL and have the money to pour into the squad for him. United with their horrible start are only two points behind us and have the money and the ambition to upgrade their squad for next year, and Mourinho usually wins something within a couple of years following a move. Liverpool has Klopp who I admire very much and will also push us to the end. The Spurs are coming of age and Pochettino is a great young coach. ANd Everton is not a pushover with Koeman and Lukaku.

    Basically – unless we decide to up the ante, get a new and hungry manager with new ideas, give him funds to build a team that he needs then we will be lucky to finish fourth this year or the years to come.

  3. Wenger has to go. The last two transfer windows are a perfect example of his incompetence.
    Mustafi was a good buy in defence but in midfield he should have gone for Kante or Wanyama. He also should have sold Ozil and done whatever it took to get Payet who is a more complete player and suitable to the premier league. He should have gone all in for Lukaku and I honestly think we would be on top of the league going back to a 4-4-1-1 formation that he had all of his success with.

    Cech
    Bellerin-Mustafi-Koscielny-Monreal
    Sanchez-Coquelin-Kante-Cazorla
    Payet
    Lukaku

    Obviously if we couldn’t get Kante, Wanyama would have been better than what we have now and with Cazorla being injured, play Iwobi or not sent Campbell out on loan.

    I don’t think these buys would have been out of our reach by any means but it shows that Wenger has no vision and has succumbed to panic buys because of pressure from the fans.

  4. Wenger is putting arsenal fans in a difficult position. We don’t want to disrespect him after years of loyal service. We would prefer not to display anti-wenger placards. But the man is leaving fans with no choice. His obsession with arsenal is currently hurting the club.
    He surely has to reconsider and hand over the reigns to new manager. I fear that if he clings on, things will get ugly for him much to the satisfaction of his rivals particularly mourinho. I wouldn’t like to see him leave unceremoniously but the man may just bring it on himself.

    1. aluz
      Good point mate.He should be smelling the coffee hard by now.If he cannot smell it, he should go for a sinus check-up! I am sure he is still awake by now as I heard he does not get proper sleep after defeats! Then I sit here and wonder,is he aware that Arsenal is in a bad run of form at this moment in time? Just some loud thoughts from me…

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