Judging by the amount of tributes given to Arsene Wenger by players, former players and former adversaries since he announced he was leaving Arsenal just goes to show how much Le Prof is admired and respected everywhere in the footballing world.
Now today, the last signing of the Wenger era, Henrik Mhkitaryan, has stated that every single person at the club was very upset at his departure and they would all have been happy if he remained in charge indefinitely. “Not only the players, but the staff overall were sad. It’s not that easy to handle the exit of a man who was managing the team for 22 years,” he said.
“You can’t imagine how everyone was amazed with the atmosphere he had created. If he decided to stay for 10 more years, no one would have been against (it).”
But Mhki accepts that the targets were not met last season and the players must now concentrate on redressing that balance next season under Emery. “Our priority (last season) was qualification for Champions League, but unfortunately we didn’t manage that,” he said.
“We wanted to do it and we fought for it, but everything can happen in football, so we should focus on next season and return to the Champions League in two years.”
Although Mhki says everyone would be happy if Wenger remained, could that be because they knew that their own jobs were safe under Le Prof? Perhaps they all simply became complacent?
It would certainly be a telling indictment if Emery got Arsenal back into the Top Four with the same players that Arsenal had, but simply couldn’t motivate them any more?
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Thank god he didn’t stay another 10 years otherwise we would be having a North London derby with Barnet before too much longer
It is true that many people in the footballing world loved Wenger for how he lifted the club in the first ten years at arsenal but I firmly believe that majority of arsenal fans wanted him to leave because the club have stagnated during the last ten years. If Wenger had continued arsenal would have declined to a mid-table club in the long run. So kudos to gazidis for the boldness in easing him out. There is no way things can get worst under the new head coach, unai emery.
Wenger lost his way many years ago. Sanogo, Squillaci, etc, etc. He just lost his way. I think the way he left the club shows the great respect given to him, but he just got too old to keep the fire going. Hopefully Unai Emery can make up for the lost years.
Why are all these articles about Wenger, Can someone write about the news on Seri and Pellegrini.
Really dont see both coming because they both play the same position, with Pellegrini being the one with better defensive quality, quicker across the ground and about five years younger. Really dont see Pellegrini deal happening because he was bought to take the place of the ageing legs of Rossi. Also quite surprising both players could be endangering the Ramsay and Xhaka position in the team.
Anyway long days ahead with rumours
Why the surprise?
Any decent human being would respect the man and his input into the world of football. Just ask our new manager about him.
That should be enough praise without the players, past and present, also acknowledging the man.
I and thousands of others across-the-board also pay tribute and we are humbled that professionals like Myk, Emery etc are of the same opinion
Surely noone is questioning our new managers wisdom already are they?
I certainly don’t want to judge Emery with Wenger as I am sure we will be signing new players anyway.
Once again, thanks Arsene, now please can we move on and support the new manager?
I do agree with you, Wenger is quite ok and i doubt he will be going into coaching right away, see him more becoming a behind the scenes individual. There are more pressing issues at the club and at this time the Articles i see being written about Wenger seems quite irrelevant.
“He could have stayed another ten years” and “why Wenger turn down England and Real madrid”, is this really necessary at this time , for me the authors are looking for another irrelevant argument amongst the supporters of Arsenal. Special mention i did not read the articles.
I am just anxious to see how Emery develops the squad and who will be the first buy
if wenger is so great as people make him out to be, why is he unemployed right now ? imagine a Mourinho or Guardiola even Klopp on a free market today , I bet they would have found a new job quicker. if SAF got out of retirement right now, he’ll have a better job opportunity than wenger. Wenger has lost is. nobody else wants him anymore except from the mid table teams like westham, crystal palace, Saint etienne etc. or maybe national teams France and England maybe. you will never see a Germany, Brazil or Spain hiring him .
Your examples are very interesting to look at.
Mourinho took a year out then joined Utd
Guardiola took year out then joined City
Klopp took a year out then joined Liverpool
Wenger out for three weeks so he’s lost it
Then you quote Palace or West Ham…both have managers, one just appointed.
So why don’t you just concentrate on OUR manager and wait and see where Arsene Wenger is in s years time?
That is of course if it bothers you
Me? Merci Arsene … Welcome Mr Emery.
Well said Ken 1945.
Too many people here talking rubbish and exposing their ignorance.
Oh come on whom are you trying to fool. All those managers you mentioned who took a gap of 1 year wanted to take a break/sabbatical unlike Wenger, Who from the day he has announced his departure has been desperately giving signs that he will definitely manage.
He now realized that he is no longer a decent club wanting him except may be(big may be) some mid table teams. SO he now has confined to saying “May be off the pitch? I don’t know if I still have the same energy for on the pitch”.
So he does know that he has no energy, that is why he sits on the bench for almost the entirety of the match. Zero passion, zero motivation during the match.
While teams near the bottom of the league look at the technical area for some inspiration and ideas when things are not going their way (oh f*ck wait.. even when things are going absolutely their way managers have a lot more to say to their team, remember the Newcastle Away game?) our players look an empty tech area. I wonder how our players would feel looking at the opposition technical area having huge animated character just adjacent to our vacant one.
And coming to your problem with us(fans) bothered with wenger even after him leaving, It is because of the position that the club is in when he has left, and on top of that instead of keeping his mouth shut this fool has the audacity to call us fans impatient. Yeah, he blames us for the loss of his job.
You know Arsenal has the highest average age of starting 11 among the top 10 teams in PL last year.
Almost all of our better performers are past their prime or a year away from being Past the Prime. And how many years and millions of Euros do you think it will take to get a core group of good(potentially great) players aged around 23,24?
I have already mentioned in one of my previous comments a few day back that this fool should have built the team around Ozil and Alexis when we bought them in back to back seasons. Instead we just bought Petr Cech. And now there is no Alexis and we have a Ozil aged 29 and on 350K a week. Good luck trying to make a 30 year old Ozil work his socks off for team when a 24Year Old Ozil could not do it.
And you people say Merci Arsene? while he say “F**K YOU FANS, YOU COST ME MY JOB”
Think about it, who is at loss?
He is not in any loss, took 9mil a year to do his job , which he failed miserably for 10+ years.While we fans invested our money(highest ticket prices in Europe), emotion, time(most valuable since it is not our job and we don’t get a dime by following Arsenal) and yet get called Impatient after waiting for 10 years to at least compete for the title.
He even took the 9mil he is given for the remaining 1 year of his contract(If he really loved Arsenal, he wouldn’t take it. May be that extra 9 mil would help us get a good player. But know I am a 70year old who lives alone while my wife and daughters left me long back, so I will take the 9 mil and dance in a PUB ).
Sorry, but I’d say “YOU FOOL, NEVER COME ANYWHERE NEAR OUR ARSENAL”
A reply written as if by my own fair hand.Very well played Sir
Shekar233,
I do appreciate the way you discuss things in such a dignified and sensible way.
Just to remind you, OUR CLUB includes people with different views who have actually supported AFC for many years.
Now I’m not sure why the opinions of every professional manager, player, media pundit or the owner of OUR CLUB and BOARD Members and of course our new manager should surprise you
Emery has thanked Wenger for the legacy he has inherited, the top players he has available and the work going on behind the scenes at the club.
So far he seems very excited about the role he has and believes he can work with all concerned to be a success at the club.
So no concerns about so called ageing players or. Millions of euros to replace them.
No mention of Ozil and his socks either!
But after criticising Ozil, you say Wenger should have built the team around him and Sanchez. Is that the man who was reportedly causing so much unrest in the dressing room, wanted to leave for City, Pep said no to his money demands and ended up at United earning more than Ozil and is causing trouble there?
Beginning to see why you are not a premier league manager but anyway, on to your next point if I may.
Wenger is annoyed with the fans? Where did you see that? In the papers, at his press conference or since he left the club? Please enlighten me. The last thing I heard from him regarding the fans was at the Burnley game where 50000 plus Gooners were told how much he would miss us and to keep on supporting the players and the club. What a fantastic send off he got as well.
Once again you are wrong on season ticket prices as you take what is printed as gospel. As you well know, our season tickets include seven cup games. Now please go and compare the overall value to the other London premier league clubs. By the way, my ticket cost me £382 for the coming season, what did yours cost?
Just a little footnote to tickets, why aren’t you blaming the club over this? Of course it’s your hard earnt money that you are spending and its your decision how you spend it, or are you blaming Wenger for that as well?
I don’t know if he has taken the money or not, you obviously have very intimate knowledge of the agreement reached, so can you let me know what was agreed and by whom?
The final point about his family is not worth my time discussing with you, as it has nothing to do with our club, football and certainly none of your business anyway.
Meanwhile I will look forward to our new manager taking our club forward and supporting them no matter what. I sincerely hope he can produce another team of Invincibles, qualify for the CL 20 years in a row, win 7 fa cups and complete three trebles. If he doesn’t, I will still give him my 100% support because he is our manager.
Only god can save us, as long as there are fans who are so very blind to the very truth in front of their eyelids.
I can take as much sarcasm as you can shoot at me.
I can even take the biased views towards any topic related to Arsenal.
But the only thing that hurts me is that there are fans who think things just turn out to be great without putting 1% of extra effort. In our case we put -10% effort than the previous season and expect to do way better than the previous year.
From the reference you gave regarding the number of times we qualified for champions league , it is quiet evident that you are an ardent Arsene fan and are least bothered about what benefit(non-monetary) is gained by qualifying. Even Galatasaray,Ajax/Anderlecht qualify for UCL every season.
We get to Round 32, so we are one of the 32 best clubs in world? 32?
So we get out in Round 32, only 16 get through.
So are we atleast the 17th best club out of 32?
There are clubs like Dortmund,Atl Madrid,Napoli/Roma etc ahead of us.
So we are may be 20th best club in the world.
With that in context,
Are we 20th richest club in football? No? last time I Checked it was 6th.
Are we 20th club in terms of cash reserves?
Are we paying 20th highest ticket prices?
So how do you justify our performance for the past 6 years?
And coming to the Alexis’s behavior causing unrest in the dressing room, if wanting to win things and wanting the teammates to put more effort to at least try to win things is unrest according to you/manager/players, That explains why Arsenal fail season after season.
And what is this about wage demands that people talk?
First with Van Persie now Alexis?
Couldn’t Alexis play in Chineese league and earn more than what he is at UTD?
If you are offered a better chance to win things and also get paid way more than what you earn, wouldn’t any player jump ship?
He is not born and bred at Arsenal, why does he have to do be loyal?
Wasn’t Koscielny loyal? What has he got to show for his loyality?
I respect Van Persie a lot more than any other Arsenal Fan. Coz he wanted to win the premiere league atleast once as he was almost 30yrs in age. Had he stay with us, he would be 36 now and still without a PL winners medal.
And you talk about pep rejecting Alexis’s wage demands? You have a call with pep every day?
And you question how I know that Arsene has blamed fans? May be you don’t read between the lines. But many people do. He might not have directly said that fans cost him the job.
But he did talk about the impatience at the club and fans despite winning FA cups. Now we The ARSENAL are to be judged by winning a cup in which at most we face 2 good PL teams to get to final/win it?
I guess you are paid well at the company you work for showing up once in a week. And then you run packing your things the moment some other company offers you just a 15% hike Over your salary.
How pity that we have had fans like these who would accept anything as an outcome.
I am done with trying explaining things which could put our near future in danger. Peace
Only God can save us!
Now your bringing religion into the discussion after the dribble you wrote about his family!
So no comments about your season ticket price and the facts regarding what our season ticket gives us versus others.
No comments about your ideas of building the team round Ozil and Sanchez, perhaps the old fool was cleverer than you?
You deplore Wenger’s action for taking his salary of£9 million (but of course could no give the facts that this was the case) and then praise Rvp for leaving us to obtain trophies!
Where was the loyalty from this man, who was paid throughout his injury ridden time at Arsenal!
After one brilliant season, he holds the club to ransom and joins our biggest rival and you admire him?!
Not only that, you then criticise Wenger for supposedly taking the money that the board and owner signed up to in a binding contract!
One rule for Wenger another for everyone else it seems.
Again you could not give any factual proof of his annoyance with the fans which was not surprising in the least. I o course quoted his thoughts to verify 50000 fans which totally showed the opposite actually happened.
Of course I don’t talk to Pep, but I read and digest his actual guotes, that’s how I know..
Kos stayed with us and was rewarded with an excellent contract, CL football be and numerous medals, so I don’t know what your point is.
It doesn’t matter if we are the richest club or the 50th richest club, if the OWNER doesn’t want to spend HIS money then no manager can do anything about it.
I hope that you can come to terms with the fact that Arsene is no longer employed and his past tenure and football knowledge has been a source of inspiration for our new manager amongst others.
The only danger to our near future, as you put it, is the Owner not backing our new manager.
Hey, Kiddo,
the term ‘GOD’ for you is a religion. So this proves what IQ you have been living all your pathetic life.
Let me explain,
Religion is a subset of GOD. Every religion call someone/something their GOD.
So just by mentioning GOD doesn’t talk about religion.
Just because I mention your great grand father you are not being in the context.
Owner not spending his money?
When did you see arsenal buying a striker worth 60mil in the January window just after buying a striker 6moths ago for 50mil?
Yes, we are not MANC/PSG that we spend loads of money. But there is reasonable amount of money(every season) with which we could have bought three or four players worth a combined 100mil pre-sales
You don’t believe Arsenal had just 15mil, the amount that we paid to Chelsea for cech?
Oh sorry ,wrong question, you do believe anything +ve about Arsene, considering you IQ of equating GOD to religion it is not a surprise.
such a** worshippers are free to live the way they want to, only that we don’t give sh*t about your extremely biased, non-sensical and -ve IQ opinions.
I rest my case.
these other managers took a year out by choice. Wenger has reiterated time and time again that he’s not ready to rest. he wants to go straight to a manager/coach role immediately . why are there no job offers then ?
Victoria,
How do you know that there are no job offers!
Are you another one who has inside information regarding Wenger’s situation?
Maybe after earning £9 million last year, he can afford to take his time and choose what is best for him?
Hang on…I believe that’s what the man himself said and that’s without any inside knowledge.. just the FACTS
Not sure he has said he wants to go straight into a manager/coach role immediately, he has said he wants to work in the game but not sure what role. I’m also not convinced it would be common knowledge what has or hasn’t been offered, I would suggest we wait and see, if anyone is really interested.
Not a question of forgetting Wenger. That will not and never can happen. But surely we should be looking forward with increased excitement , rather than constantly going over all the old Wenger arguments, which ANY article about him will be bound to be discussed. We should leave a decent interval before further discussion, INHO, and let him decide his own immediate future before further inquests. he was and remains a great human being. He was also a great manager but not for some time past.
Is Arsene still lurking around the emirate? Poking is head out from behind infesting the minds of luxury players like mhikky?
Mhik you’d better STFU and concentrate on how to retain your position under the new manager.
EVERYONE WANTS HIM GONE. YOU LIKE STAGNATION IF YOU WANTED HIM AROUND FOR TEN MORE YEARS.
IT’S NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL.
Victoria, he’s unemployed because he is taking a break and taking stock before he decides his next move. He even said himself he will not rush into what will likely be his final job before retirement. In any case, we are not party to any offers he may have had or if indeed he has had contacts from prospective employerrs. Much respect to the man but I think it’s time for everyone to move on and talk about Arsenal,s future, not the past.
Declan,
I agree it is time to move on and would gladly do so.
But I cannot stand by and let people still come on and disrespect our ex manager without challenging their, sometimes, vile and abusive rants.
Here’s a quarantee, I will be as positive as the next man and not look backwards if this forum can do the same.
Let’s see who can discuss the future under Emery without mentioning Wenger.
Honestly, all talks about AW is now irrelevant.
He left already.
10 years more on fiction and drama, thank God, this is not the reality.
Arsenal have not stagnated in the last decade, the rest of the football world caught up to them. It was the owner, the executives, and the fans who refuse to understand that without matching resources, Arsenal cannot match what Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea are doing.
Man U will spend £200 million this summer. Man City will probably spend another £100 million to replace Yaya Toure and perhaps Sergio Aguero.
Liverpool were brilliant in their recruiting with Suarez, Coutinho, and Salah; using the money from the sale of Suarez to add quality and the money form the sale of Coutinho to add Van Dijk. It is worth mentiponiong, however, that Liverpool have never won the league in the Premier League era (22 years and counting) They have won the Champions League (1), the FA Cup, (2), and the League Cup (3) in the Premier League era.
I would expect Arsenal to have a similar future to Liverpool’s last two decades. Occasional bursts of brilliance, but a lot of mediocrity and plenty of turmoil and plenty of coaching changes. Liverpool have had 8 managers in the Wenger era and won nowhere near as many honours. Liverpool are being hailed for their brilliant season. They were fourth. That finish had a contingent of Arsenal fans screaming for Arsene Wenger’s head.
Poccetinho has been hailed as overtaking Wenger after a handful of very good years but, alas, zero trophies. It is really odd that the Wenger Out Mob cast envious looks at Tottenham’s ‘success’ but even in Arsneal’s recent titleless campaigns, Arsenal won more trophies than Spurs.
For the Wenger Out Mob, including, apparently Ivan Gazidas and Josh Korenke, the shiny new thing at Anfield and the relative improvement of Tottenham felt like proof that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal were failing, but neither has won the Premier League, ever.
The truth is, no matter how many pundits say Arsenal stagnated under Arsene Wenger, the truth is, Arsenal stagnated under the executive direction and ownership unwilling to invest beyond football revenues. Unsi Emery may get £70 million to invest, plus sales, but how will that ‘close the gap’ when Man U are going to spend three times that, Man City spend more, Chelsea will almost certainly out spend the Gunners, and even Liverpool, with close to £60 million remaining from the sale of Coutinho will probably outspend Arsenal.
Tottenham have missed their window. As an Arsenal supporter, that should make me happy, but in truth, the Lily Whites did everything right but have had their chance at a title snatched away by the same financial doping the doomed Arsenal for the last decade. The Spurs have the first XI to win a title but lack the squad depth to cope with even minor injuries or dips in form from their stars. It might be possible, if everything falls just right for Spurs, for them to make one more run, but if they somehow manage to hold onto Harry Cane, Dele Alli, et. All for another year, they need to add similar quality in depth and that is really hard when Chelsea, City, and Man U will spend more for reserve defenders than they can afford to spend for a starting XI forward.
Good luck to Unai Emery, but without massive investment, a decade of rebuilding, or plain dumb luck, Arsenal will spend the next decade wandering from 6th to 2nd, never quite able to win the title, never quite winning the Champions League.