Arsenal News

Arsene Wenger makes a very bold claim about what position he left Arsenal in

Arsene Wenger claims he left Arsenal in a strong position.

Arsene Wenger left Arsenal last year after 22 years at the helm, the club has largely struggled since then but Wenger insists that he left the team in a strong position.

The Frenchman was replaced by Unai Emery who succeeded in leading the team to a fifth-place finish on the league table in his first season.

However, this season was disastrous and Emery was fired. They have named Freddie Ljungberg as their interim boss but things haven’t changed so far.

Most fans and pundits have claimed that Arsene Wenger’s reign set in motion the current struggles of the team, but the Frenchman disagrees.

Wenger instead has placed the blame on players whom the club has signed who has failed to live up to expectations.

“I don’t think it’s a necessity to have that,” Wenger said. “When I left the club was in a very strong financial position and they bought many players in-between – they have not all worked out, he said per Sky Sports.

“I believe that it’s not a question of time. The change can be very efficient very quickly, it’s just about the right decision-making and that’s all that it’s about in football, it’s about good players.

“We speak about the success of Liverpool, of course they have a great manager, but you have to say as well that in the last three-four years, they bought the right players.”

I suspect that a lot of Arsenal fans will disagree with Wenger here. It is very debatable that he left the club in a great financial position. In fact, it was selling players cheap, losing players on free transfers, allowing huge ridiculous contract extensions that has lead directly to the current financial state the club is in right now.

Posted by

44 Comments

    1. Wenger failed his last 2 years to reach CL, yet left them in strong position?

      Surely he was aware how bad the defense was, and getting worse, yet strong position?

      Didn’t expect him to say “I was wrong,” but did expect a bit of honesty.

      Too many years around Kronke, the worst rubbed off on Wenger.

  3. Let sleeping bags lie .. watching Barca Madrid … neither team close to their glory days but so far ahead of us it’s actually quite shocking to me … I keep recalling the lies about where the new stadium would take us … now who indulged in that bs?🤔

  4. Been watching the game also, I’ve just been focusing on how Madrid are quick to close down Barcelona players and deny them space. It’s something I wish our team can constantly do.
    I hope Arteta brings that

    1. see what De Bruyne has to say about our team.

      Asked if he was surprised by Arsenal giving City’s attackers so much space, De Bruyne was quoted by Metro UK as saying: “We saw up front in the videos… the attackers they try to press up but when we pass their front four they really don’t help the Arsenal defence.
      “So they always stay with four players [Aubameyang, Ozil and Pepe] up front, except [Gabriel] Martinelli who comes [back] a little bit more.
      “So we always get spaces somewhere over the pitch.
      “I think it’s really difficult for the six defenders to control that because obviously you can come from everywhere on the pitch.
      “I think they left some open spaces and we exploited them really well.

      That is to show those covering for Ozil that the time for no 10 to only make passes and not defend is pass.

      We are in new era where, everybody in the team has to defend as one and attack as one.

      If defender can score the only goal to safe a team, so also a midfielder or striker should contribute to defence work.

      1. Try telling that correct Ozil comment to some of his wilfully blind hero worshippers on here. They are slowly reducing in number though, as bleak reality finally dawns on those who have now finally become fellow realists . Fantasists and self foolers will never learn though. I once adored Ozil, ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO, BUT I WATCHED AND SAW THE DAMNING EVIDENCE OF HIS REGULAR LAZINESS AND STOPPED HERO WORSHIPPING THIS IDLE IDOL! My eyes are no keener than those of the idle idol worshippers , BUT I can accurately interpret what I see and I live in the real world, where Ozil is concerned.

        1. Jon……………….Im have a comment awaiting moderation about how Forbes tell us Kroenke has the worlds most valuable sports empire and yet we still wait for the first penny/dime of investment in Arsenal!……………you will be breathing fire ! 😆
          Come on admin release the comment before you write another 20 posts and it never gets seen!

          1. Come on Le Coq, Admin ONLY writes about a post every ten minutes! Or so it seems! If he ran a shop he would be opening it 14 days a week! FORBES IS A MINE OF GOOD INFO!

        2. So Jon-never short of a word or ten are you? Especially when discussing bone idle, lazy players.So how about finally giving your opinion of George Graham as a player.Youve been asked this by me before but, as always when you have found yourself ridiculously contradicted, you skulk off with no answer.
          To remind you, GG himself stated he was as lazy as he could be on a football pitch.He never saw the point in running around for the sake of it.He did as little in terms of workrate as he could, preferring to leave that side of the game to his team mates.
          So, did you offer your vitriolic abuse at the player when watching? Or is your rants for Ozil only?
          Don’t expect a straight answer from you, but interesting to see what you do come back with.If anything

    1. Saw that myself, over 8 billion in valuation. Quite damning of Kronke when claims about affording players and top managers.

      Proof of his statement about “…not getting involved to win titles…”

      That carpet-bagging Robber Baron should sell the club if he isn’t in it for titles. Seems everyone is in for titles except the owner.

      1. What do you expect, Durand, from a man who has such an empire yet wears a Walmart syrup when he could afford the best hair transplant money can buy!……………….if he wont spend on himself what chance of spending on Arsenal?……………….none!
        If I had just £10K I would get a great hair transplant and I`ve got a full head of hair ! hahaha

  6. If he thinks leaving us in free fall, with ozil on zillions of pounds stripping this club bare, every player valued at far less than we brought them in for, contract situations in chaos, apathy at the Emirates, planes with banners, no defence, selling players off for peanuts and letting others go for free, no champions league football and no youth coming through is leaving this club well off then he is more of an idiot than i thought he was. What a silly old man, just keep your mouth shut.

        1. The ones Arsene signed before he left Sue.

          AB08, out of curiousity, what season do you think he should have left, as I can only see one season that he didn’t finish in the top four or win a trophy in twenty two years?
          Could you guarantee that the money AW made for the club would have still been there under anyone else?

    2. Reggie
      You have to look at what has gone on after he has left.
      AW over stayed his welcome by a number of seasons and tarnished his legacy but we have had over a season and a half to put things in place to rectify certain problems.
      We have installed various personal in certain positions to actually ensure we dont make the same mistakes as we did in the past
      Prob is we are still making the wrong decision
      People who are still dithering a d cant make decisons
      Appoint the wrong personnel
      Buying the wrong type of ayers at inflated prices
      Not getting to grips with players contracts.
      So yes AW was awful at the end but christ the lunatics running the the asylum now are even worse.
      The club I feel is far worse now then when aw left which fundamently make him correct

        1. Reggie
          We will agree to disagree on this one
          The blame in my opinon lays firmly at the feet of the owner
          We have an owner who seems to like mess
          Blame who ever you like but kronkie is in charge. He has the power to change
          He has empowered people at the club to enforce his vision which is save money by cutting corners. Get everything done on the cheap, run the club down but make sure it makes them money.

      1. Jon, having gone down to support my club in person on Sunday, spending my money (approx. £200) and then spending time with my family before heading back, I have been catching up on the expert reactions and views…especially by those who don’t spend a penny at the club, but berate the owner for giving the new regime over £215,000,000 to buy 18, mostly dross, players…and then say who the owner should spend his money on, while singling out one player from a team that, apart from Leno, was a humiliation to all fans of the club, while also telling those of us who DO SUPPORT our club how to spend our money!!!

        I have given my reaction to this post below and I suggest you read my reply:
        Meanwhile, I am busy arranging tickets and transport to go out and support my club FINANCIALLY AND IN PERSON for the Olympiacos game with my daughter – thanks for asking after me, I am alive and kicking!!!

    4. Reggie, since AW left, we have bought players in who are valued at less than we bought them for (luiz-sokratis) contract situations in chaos (auba and lacs) apathy at the emirates ( more empty seats than ever, with banners demanding kronkie and UE out) no defence (despite signing four new defenders) letting players go for free (Ramsey valued at £50,000,000) no champions league football (a fans deeming that it wasn’t as important as winning a trophy after 20 years of CL) no youth? (AMN, Iwobi, Nelson, Nketiah, ESR, Willock all signed under AW).
      You are correct that all our players are stripping kronkies club bare, but he offered and sanctioned the salaries didn’t he and didn’t the fans say it proved we were a “big club” when Ozil signed that contract?

      You also missed the planes with banners that supported AW, that he left the club in sixth position, after winning the fa cup the year before and missed out on the 21st consecutive CL football by one point, you can’t seem to remember before the 2017-18 season and can’t even think what is happening at the club since he left…your a silly little twerp calling the most successful manager we have ever had an idiot.

      If I was AW, I would be laughing my head off at fans like you – this was what you wanted, you got your arsenal back and it’s been a complete and utter disaster – so what do you do???
      After 18 new players, over £215,000,000 spent, a new regime, new coach, £72,000,000 on a forward and what’s the solution…blame Arsene Wenger.
      By the way, I hear he speaks very highly of you when he opens his mouth…in nine different languages!!!!!!!!!

      1. Wenger left us in a pretty good position:
        – Signed promising youth
        – Enough money for the club to spend on pretty good players despite the Kroenkes
        – New beautiful stadium, built largely due to his achievements

        And his downside is largely due to Gazidis’s involvement, which people quickly forget. At the end, Wenger was mostly just a coach and it was Gazidis who gave the final decision to give Ozil that ludicrous salary. It was Gazidis and Raul who brought Emery to drag us down.

        It was then Raul who waited too long to sack Emery and greenlighted loads of dubious acquisitions post-Wenger.

        Let’s face it: Had the club chosen a better manager after Wenger and then bought better value players (instead of Lichts, Sokratis, Luiz etc) and also kept Ramsey, we would all be saying Wenger left us in a pretty decent state (if you take Kroenkes’ ownership into account).

      2. No Ken i wanted the old fool out because he was letting us down at the end. The guy stayed too long and ruined all his good previous work. This is as much his doing as anyones. He hung on and hung on selfishly becauae he didn’t want to let go and he left us in the shite.

        1. Reggie, the way he has been described (and also many other top managers) he was basically a management junkie.
          It’s wrong to say he was selfish because I don’t think he consciously decided he wanted to stay. I think that like other types of junkies, he just COULDN’T let go. And after his wife left him, he had literally nothing else in his life except Arsenal. That’s why he was the first to work and the last to go home, as has been reported.

          That’s also why he isn’t coming back to management, I think. Finally free of his addiction, I think he’s a bit scared of going into it again. I mean even if he didn’t want an English job, as has been reported, he would still get loads of offers from France and a few at least from Germany…

          1. “The first to work and the last to go home”, interesting.
            If you’re describing Ronaldo, it’s called hard work and dedication.
            And if the same words apply to Wenger, it’s he had nothing else in his life…

            Wenger brought us trophies, a new stadium and more importantly a very foundation and identity. We played beautiful and entertaining football. He made Arsenal a brand. He created many good memories for football. I think his new role in FIFA more than justified his success.

            And all you fans can do, after he left for 2 years, and after you got the new management you wished for, is to still blame the old man and not the ones who are currently behind the wheels.

            Come on. Show some respect.

            If you must blame, blame Raul and Kroenkes.

        2. Well Reggie, as I say, you got your wish – he left along with his backroom staff (except for Bouldy) eighteen months ago.
          A further eighteen months previously, gazidis had announced he was bringingin the three wise mne to take over control of contracts, signings and salaries etc.

          So in three years, what do you think has become better within the club OR do you believe things have become worse?

          You say he hung on and hung on…kronkie asked him to stay and he agreed.
          At the time of his new contract, we had just finished second in the league and qualified for yet another CL season.
          Hardly in the shite, as you say…the next season we won the fa cup final, beating city and chelsea in the semi and final and then missed out by one point on CL yet again.
          If that’s being left in the shite, what we have today is a cesspool of a club, desperate to avoid relegation after signing 18 new players, a team afraid of the likes of Watford and humiliated game after game after game.

          He made mistakes, he signed awful players, he probably shouldn’t have signed the new contract, but what he left the club far outweighs those mistakes and to still be blaming him three years after gazidis, in all but name, took over from him is as pathetic as you calling him silly, childish names.

  7. I think Wenger is talking about behind the scenes financials. And if you compare it to when he first came, Arsenal has obviously become a global brand bringing in tons of cash. Now personnel-wise, yes, huge mistakes by giving contracts to players like Ozil, Elneny, not selling Alexis at the best time and leaving us with Miki, and other problems. He is right that recruitment has not been good since he’s left though, and Arsenal have not been able to move deadwood quick enough. There should be a wholesale on most of our players and Arsenal will need to accept the losses on some of them to clear the books for others.

  8. For truth lovers Wenger has a point but for his detractors he is the cause of all the misery Arsenal has gone through. This is a man who sacrificed his managerial success for the sake of Arsenal. Clubs like Real Madrid wanted him but he stuck with Arsenal and missed out on trophies. Let us imagine the money which was given to Emery for player purchases had been given to Wenger, how much would Arsenal have achieved? Wenger kept us competitive on almost zero budget taking us to Champions League for 20 consecutive seasons and our delusional fans were mocking him for that and even labelled it the Wenger trophy. Now they are yearning for it. It’s always good to give credit where it’s due.

    1. I dont get what you are saying, wenger spent 45mil on ozil, 40 mil on sanchez, 35 mil on xhaka, 35 mil on mustaffi,16 mil on welbeck and a lot more besides in the space of under 3 years. He still couldn’t improve us and we now are stuck with those players and cant give them away, although we gave sanchez away.

  9. He was good at keeping Arsenal in top 4 when there were 4 teams in for CL. Now that 6 teams emerged fighting for 4 CL spots, it rings a bit hollow.

    I appreciate what he did for us, just wish he left after winning last FA Cup.

    1. Durand, I agree with your last sentence and that’s what should have happened, but kronkie and gazidis offered him a new deal to stay at the club he loves and, as history now shows and like any other human being, he made a mistake.

      Your first point, however, I find a little weird…you have kept us, well me at least, up to date on kronkie, how he runs his empire and how he doesn’t want to win at all.

      Now, I don’t see how you can say if there were four, five or six teams fighting for the CL places, to do what AW did for twenty years, either under kronkie or the limited Highbury income, “it rings a bit hollow”.

      Surely, he performed miracles season after season under kronkie, with gazidis stabbing him in the back at every opportunity?
      We have just witnessed UE failing in such miserable circumstances, yet you seem to think that AW’s achievements are hollow simply because other clubs have owners who invest and support their club and manager? He did it for twenty years, not one or two and yet he is judged by some on three or four players, results or ridiculous contracts agreed by kronkie, gazidis and AW himself!!

      We both know AW made mistakes, some awful buys, was obstinate etc etc but to not recognise, even during his last successful season when he won the fa cup and failed by one point to secure top four yet again, his mastery as a manager under kronkie is wrong.

  11. Some reported figures from “youtube” recently, regarding spuds financial rewards from their Cl final run revenue returns…a reported 100,000,000 euros.
    So far this season they have added a further 9,000,000 euros into the coffers and add to that the bonus of 15,200,000 euros for reaching the knockout stage.
    So, in just one and a half seasons a grand total of 124,200,000 euros have been realised from the CL competition itself, let alone the receipts from the games played/ to be played and the sponsorship deals that have followed…let’s call it £150,000,000.

    NO wonder AW, along with every other top manager, called the top four a trophy in itself, but not deemed good enough by some of our fans and pundits at the time!!!

    So we should look at why Arsene Wenger is so positive, saying that when he left the club, it was in a very strong financial position and, perhaps the following will explain that statement:

    Twenty years of CL football, the final, the semi finals, the qualifying stages (15 times since 2001), the europa semi final run and receipts…PLUS the money from finishing in the top four twenty times, the seven fa cup wins, the three premier league wins, the renewed sponsorship deals, the early transfer deal monies (anelka etc).
    I would say that any true realist or supporter has to say that during his reign, instead of “bleeding the club dry” he was giving it a BLOOD TRANFUSION every single season (except his last one) as the above FACTS clearly point out.

    Now then, what kronkie, the owner, has done with this vast amount of money is the question we should be asking, not being left speechless in mock indignation.
    AW most certainly did his part in enriching the club from the financial aspect and his statement cannot be denied, IF one REALLY wanted to look at the facts and not the INDIVIDUAL concerned.

    Furthermore, the AW statement also said that “they have bought in many players ( EIGHTEEN IN FACT), who have not worked out” is another true statement….as most fans and pundits are saying…over £215,000,000 plus a loss of £50,000,000 on Ramsey – and AW’s being questioned about his financial record??????

  12. The idea that Xhaka was a great option for Arsenal rather than doing all he could to get Kante was one of the final things that convinced me that Arsene had failed to understand the direction of modern football, particularly in the premier league.
    For several years before that the teams roster had gradually deteriorated relative to other top premier league teams. Arsene certainly helped turn Arsenal into a global brand. But he left a poor, unbalanced squad.
    This has been compounded by inadequate recruitment since. The roster still lacks quality in too many areas and major changes are required.
    We have a number of promising youngsters and top quality strikers. Beyond that many of the other players who should be in their prime are average or worse. Problem is several of them were acquired for huge fees so can only be sold at a loss,
    It’s going to be a huge job making the time consistently competitive again. It’s probably possible even with this squad but it won’t be by playing pretty football.

  13. Wenger is correct.It’s all about players and making the right decisions when recruiting.Like Mustafi and Xhaka and a dozen before them?What a nerve Wenger has and yet pundits and TV presenters never take him to task when an opportunity presents itself?

    1. Another selecive memory fan then Grandad?
      He was asked a question about the financial situation at the club and he had the “nerve” to reply as he sees the situation?

      As an ex banker, I would have thought you would have done the sums regarding the financial state of affairs during AW’s reign.
      Just how much money do you think he brought to the club, even with the mistakes like mustafi, xhaka and a dozen before them?
      What about the dozens of players he bought who helped the club to 20 seasons of CL, top four, premier titles and fa cups, or don’t they count?

      As for the pundits and TV presenters not taking him to task, he was attacked on a regular basis over his years of not winning trophies and laughed at when saying Cl qualification was a trophy in itself…one radio station even had a session devoted to the club and it’s manager.

      Even today, when a quote from AW is blown up and dissected by all and sundry the opportunity to present and trash the man is taken up with great relish, as has been proved in this case.

      1. KEN1945, your dream of your old friend wenger returning to your club who you have supported for more that , how many years is it again ??, i forget. is in shambles. a younger man in the form of arteta will take up the hotseat now . you must be beside yourself . but fear not, you can always follow mr.wenger on twitter old thing.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors