Did Arsene Wenger leave his exit too late?
Arsenal fans were for a long time split on the Arsene Wenger situation, and quite likely still will be.
The legendary French tactician had a difficult ending to his Gunners career, and eventually ended up leaving the club at the end of the 2017/18 season, though some will feel he should have gone much earlier.
For all Wenger’s great work in the first half of his Arsenal career, there can be no escaping the fact that he oversaw a big decline in the second part of his reign.
It would have been nice for our greatest ever manager to go out on a bit more of a high, and Bob Wilson told The Athletic the precise moment he feels the boss should have called it a day.
Speaking to The Athletic, our former goalkeeper said: “I wish, like mad, that when we lifted the trophy in that FA Cup final against Chelsea (in 2017) he had realised that was the time.”
It’s hard to argue with this – it looked clear for some time that we needed to start a major rebuild, and Wenger leaving at that point might have left us in a stronger position to start that process.
Wilson also paid tribute to the great man, calling him a ‘visionary’.
“Arsene was different to everybody else who was around at that time,” he added. “He changed the philosophy of managers, of clubs, of players. He brought football into a totally different era. The man was a visionary.”
When ex players as respected as Bob Wilson speak, I listen.
This man is Arsenal through and through, and I would estimate a man who uses his words wisely.
Arsene Wenger – Arsenal legend.
However, totally agree with Bob.
Take care all.
Bob is the single living Arsenal person whom I most admire and he is right.
Every man and his dog knows now that that should have been the time. Some of us then knew it was the time but while we saw the FA cup win as a great swansong for a great manager, he saw it as something it wasn’t, he read the situation badly and blindly.
So we all agree on the time he should have gone it seems, so why did he continue?
In his own words (near enough anyway) he wanted to win the league once more – was that a situation that he read badly and blindly, or did he believe that having just beaten the newly crowned champions so comprehensively, he was on track to do just that?
It is also interesting to see how players he wanted were not delivered and that he wanted konte but had to go for xhaka instead aka perez for vardy.. as we all believe both were better players than the ones we had to settle for.
As i understand it Ken, Kante was wengers first choice from early on that season, Henry Winter made it clear in January that Wenger wanted him. I also understand that it was Wenger himself who agreed not to pay certain agents fees for kante and we got Xhaka. The truth in the end was whatever, Kante would have worked out cheaper than xhakas total package. Wenger chose xhaka, xhaka wasn’t forced on him or bought behind his back. Wenger as i understand knew the whole situation and allowed Kante to be taken from us and go to Chelsea and ww got xhaka.
Interesting situation Reggie – I have just looked this up and a Football Leaks has revealed that, not only The Arsenal but PSG were put off by the agents demands.
The two agents involved, pocketed a combined £10.6 million pounds (Dakad received £6.4 million and Douis £4.2 million), so it actually cost chelsea £35.8,000,00 plus £10.6 totalling £46.4 million!!! Xhaka’s fee was £35,000,000 (figures vary of course).
Kante’s salary when signing was a reported £120,000 a week, while Xhaka’s reported salary when signing was £90,000 a week.
Value today? kante = £90 million – xhaka = £21.6 million!!!!
Still know chelsea got the better player, but it just goes to show what agents are fleecing the world of football for…wonder why no one has asked them for donations to the corona virus??
Once again, absurd penny pinching from the club, but it seems we weren’t the only club refusing to give these vultures “easy money”
Agents say they look after their players and their players interests but they are really just looking after themselves. A scurge on football and part of the problem of the greed and underhandedness in the game. Most of the money that should be put back into the game, is going into the players and even worse the agents pockets and taking the money out of the game.