Is Wenger’s job as manager about to get a lot harder? by Ash
On a day where Arsenal had to hand their crown of FA CUP holders back, after two years at the helm, Manchester United once again closed the gap for the record number of Cup wins! After the final match, several sources including the BBC and Sky Sports confirmed that Jose Mourinho will be taking over as manager of Manchester United.
It marks the return of the supposed ‘Special One’ and whilst Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had a long standing rivalry with old United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, now Wenger’s current arch nemesis, Jose Mourinho, will be back to face the Gunners in the Premier League.
Wenger has always struggled tactically with beating Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea sides and whilst it will be much anticipated to see how he fares at United, the real question is, with so many class managers currently in the Premier League, is Wenger beginning to fall down the pecking order as the best of the pick?
Now in no sense am I suggesting that Arsenal should have been in for Jose Mourinho, as I can certainly imagine the backlash from fans and players alike. However, in the past season we have seen all of the generic top six (Arsenal, Chelsea, City, United, Liverpool and Spurs), apart from Arsenal change managers in the past two years, with the most recent changes coming at Chelsea, City, United and Liverpool.
Liverpool have seen Jurgen Klopp take over the helm and the German was almost a fan favourite to take over at the Emirates after Wenger, although it would seem that it has now become dramatically unlikely. Chelsea have brought in Conte, the Italian boss who has much renowned success and he will certainly strengthen their team and take the Blues back to the top six of the table. City have brought in yet another fan favourite who was touted as a possibility to take over at the Emirates in the form of Pep Guardiola. Although many will say he has always been gifted with spectacular teams, there is no doubt in the Spainard’s ability to tactically strengthen a team to the best of its abilities. Have Arsenal missed the best picks of the bunch, by allowing Arsene Wenger to continue at the Arsenal helm?
Not only have we missed out on some big name managers who ‘could’ have improved the success of the Gunners, but Wenger’s and Arsenal’s competition as a whole, has just dramatically increased even further and we should expect all of the Top Six to really strengthen with summer signings! Although we have seemingly already completed the signing of Granit Xhaha, which is a fantastic start, we must look to continue in the transfer market and address all the concerns we have. Otherwise I feel that with many new faces in charge of the big teams in the Premier League, Arsenal’s likelihood of challenging for the league could be at a disadvantage before we even kick a ball.
Does Wenger still remain as one of the best managers in England or do you think he has lost his attraction? Big name players look towards the manager as a decisive factor when signing, take Ozil’s comments when he signed as an example. Only time will tell, and some of the new faces of Guardiola and Conte could be unsuccessful in England. However we have already seen the rises of Mourinho and Klopp and there is therefore a general fear that Wenger is dropping down the pecking order of the best EPL managers.
By AH