Arsene Wenger regrets not leaving Arsenal earlier than he did, turning down the chance to move to a number of other top jobs over the years.
The legendary manager won three Premier League titles including the famous Invincibles season of 2003-04, with that being his last title win, as his club then moved to concentrate on their finances due to the building of their new state-of-the-art stadium.
We can now boast one of the best arenas in world football, but our team has slowly drifted further and further away from challenging for the league in recent seasons, and Wenger now has regrets over his decision to stay in north London for so long.
‘I identified myself completely with the club – that was the mistake I made,’ Wenger admitte das quoted in the Telegraph. ‘My fatal flaw is I love too much where I am… where I was. I regret it. I should have gone somewhere else.’
‘Sometimes I wonder – was something broken after that Invincible season?’ he explained.
‘2007 was a decisive point. It was the first time I could feel there were tensions inside the board. I was torn between being loyal to the club and being loyal to David [Dein].
‘I still today wonder if I did the right thing because life was never exactly the same after. I thought, “I have now to go to the end of this project”.
‘I could have gone to the French national team. The English national team twice or three times even. I could have gone twice to Real Madrid. I could have gone to Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, even Man United.’
While Wenger kept us relevant amidst limited spending, and somehow kept our side regularly qualifying for the Champions League over the years, you can understand his frustrations at not having taken up a new challenge when it presented itself to him.
He was too loyal a servant to us, and sections of our fanbase moved to hound him out in his latter seasons which is the real shame.
His legacy still remains in tact, but our reputation as fans will be talked up as passionate, although many must look back and feel remorse for their actions.
I fear that we would have struggled much worse if he had left us sooner, whilst the owners could also have had to readjust their thinking of the strategy much sooner, but we mustn’t wallow in the what ifs as Wenger is.
Things are all positive in north London at present thanks to a big upturn in fortunes for our season, with the club seemingly having acted extremely well in the previous transfer market, so now is a time to be looking forwards.
Should Wenger have left sooner? Are there still question marks over our business this summer?
Patrick
For me yes he did deserve better and should have left when he had the chance in order to win more things and be more renowned than he is now. Unfortunately for him he stayed and was hounded out.Now other managers will think twice before doing wahts best for their current club cause chances are you won’t be appreciated.Even Pochettino once famously said ‘I’m not Arsene Wenger” when they asked him if he would stay at one team for long.You can’t expect new managers to be loyal when they see how the others where treated as soon as they find themselves in a bit of trouble.
1997-2005 was a glorious period.For this
he has to thank TA and company .
When Adams and his gang left,thats where Arsenal fail to compete for the epl
Tbh,he has not given much attention to the defence.Thats why from mid 20s,
Arsenal always finished bottom of the top 4 thanksto a poor defence.
Assuming he hsd gone to MU or any other top team ,regular big losses would not be
tolerated.
Anyway thanks for the memory
M
I will admit that I do regret joining the Wenger out band wagon but I was not properly informed too I thought he lost his edge without considering what was going on behind the scenes I am glad he stayed tho it could have been a whole lot worse had he left in 2017 facts Thank you Mr Wenger for everything. PS:I am never joining Arteta out no matter what or any other manager out for that matter
I believe Arsene should have left after winning the FA Cup in 2016-17, I think he would have been respected a lot more and suffered less abuse, he reminded me of a world champion boxer who begins losing fights but still carries on trying to prove he’s the still the best whilst suffering more beatings along the way. But whichever way you cut it, he gave us all great memories of the teams he produced and the football they played. He can proudly stand alongside SAF as one of the great managers. Thank you Arsene, a real legend.
His loyalty is rare, however he has to realise that fans aren’t patient. He should have cashed out with Top teams. He would have won more trophies.
slowly but surely the truth will be squeezed out of this once-revered turned divisive character…once he stops hanging his crooked hat on the whole “too loyal” narrative, the story of a man who sold a little piece of his soul to secure the keys to the kingdom will emerge, then we can finally mend the fanbase rift that still inhibits our ability to move forward as a collective force for the betterment of this club