The chief executive of Arsenal Football Club Ivan Gazidis has been speaking about the Gunners and about our manager Arsene Wenger. And Gazidis’ words on the longest serving manager in the Premier League by a mile, as well as giving the Frenchman all the credit he deserves for what he has dome for the Gunners, also suggest to me that one of the reasons that the frustration of large numbers of Arsenal fans about the boss have not led to us changing managers is the fear of what comes next.
I definitely do not count myself among the Arsenal fans who have been calling for a change at the top in recent years, but there have been times when I have despaired at what looks like stubbornness from Wenger, at best, and naivety or downright failure at worst, usually during a transfer window.
But Gazidis made it crystal clear, in a statement reported by Sky Sports, that the hierarchy at the club do not really have a clear idea of who they could bring in to take the Gunners on to the next level. The end of the nine year wait for a trophy has probably made it even harder for them as well as the fact that he and Kroenke are business men rather than football experts.
Gazidis said, “So much of the attention on a football club is around an individual and that’s very understandable at Arsenal because we have a giant who’s managing us.
“Arsene has been a fantastic driver and has put the club in a great, great position.
“The biggest challenge we’re going to face as a club is that, when the transition from Arsene to the next manager of our football club happens – and I don’t know what that’s going to be – that we come through that strongly.
“Winning the FA Cup was a fantastic moment.
“In my life, that’s one of my greatest moments. The moment you get away from the euphoria of the moment, the next question is, ‘How do we have more of that?’
“We want this football club to be at the top of the world’s game. If the manager believes in someone like Mesut Ozil, he can buy him. It’s the same with Alexis Sanchez.
“Underneath that tip of the iceberg, those star signings that we talk a lot about, there’s an awful lot else going on. Our youth development, for example, is going to be the foundation of this football club going forward.
“Where we are currently is off the shoulder of the world’s top teams. I don’t think we’re at that level yet, but that’s where we’re aiming to get to. We want Arsenal to be in that elite group of football clubs around the world.”
I still get the feeling that the bigwigs at the club are using Wenger as a buffer between themselves and the anger of the fans about our lack of spending, which may be the reason for us starting to sign some big name players. If I was Wenger, I would keep pushing for more of those cash reserves, because with a few years left of his reign he would surely love to add another Premier League title and if possible a Champions League trophy to his legacy. What do you think about this Gooners?