Will Emery be as successful as Wenger under the same restrictions? by Dan Smith
It’s been just over two weeks since Arsene Wenger had his last match for Arsenal and already there seems to be clarity over just how hard a job the Frenchmen had on his hands.
While it may take longer for some fans to regret the disrespect they showed to the greates manager in our history through banners, planes and rants on social media, already evidence has arisen that under the current ownership we have in fact been overachieving by qualifying for the Champions League and winning the odd FA Cup. While who was going to be our next boss was always going to dominate the headlines, the main statement to come out of this summer is that only 50 million is available to spend.
As soon as Ivan Gazidis revealed his transfer policy the shortlist would have changed.The top names in the game have no reason to gamble their reputations unless they truly believe winning the Premiership was realistic. Suggesting that the gap between Arsenal and the Manchester clubs can be closed without serious cash invested is insulting to every Gooner.
So while we are being told that Unai Emery was always the first choice that may only be that the job specification was for a man who was willing to work for owners with zero ambition for the sake of being in charge of a top club.
Depressingly the main take away from his first press conference was explaining how not much needed to be altered in terms of the current squad, failing to add any common sense to how we are suddenly going to close a 36 point gap.
Despite winning the treble and insisting he saw out his contract in France, the reality is a new deal was never on the table. PSG are like Real Madrid, they judge what you do/don’t do in Europe. While not taking away his 3 Europa Leagues with Sevilla, domestic silverware in Paris has to be seen as the equivalent of winning the SPL with Celtic.
Like many would have been sceptical if we had hired Brendan Rodgers based on his work on Scotland can a man be judged when he had so much more money to spend than everyone else In Ligue 1. In fact one title in 2 years could be viewed as a failure when you consider how much money he spent. The idea that he is qualified to deal with a limited budget when 12 months ago he was buying Neymar seems somewhat of a contradiction.
I find it ironic that the fans who are now saying we must back this change couldn’t do the same for a man who gave us 22 years of love and loyalty. How many of those who demanded a new beginning would’ve honestly been happy with Emery and 50 million. Perhaps those fans are now too proud to admit it was Stan Kroenke and not Arsene Wenger who needed to change his ways.
Already the grass doesn’t seen greener.