Wenger is definitely the best candidate for Arsenal manager

This is not my opinion, nor the opinion of quite a lot of the commenters on JustArsenal, but it is definitely the opinion of the two people that matter the most at Arsenal Football Club, i.e. The owner, Stan Kroenke, and the CEO Ivan Gazidis.

Stan gave his opinion the other day, and now Ivan has given his opinion on Arsenal.com. “Arsène is somebody I have worked with for over eight years now, and I know the quality of the man,” he said. “I know the quality of him as a football person and I know the quality of him as a human being as well,”

“Those values that he has, those qualities, are world class in every respect. His DNA is the same DNA as the club’s. He is driven to move forward, he is driven to evolve and he is driven to achieve those objectives of winning for this club and making those fans proud.

“When you look at the world of football, and you think about the great candidates that there are – and there are many great coaching candidates in the world and Arsenal is a club that all of them would want to work for because of the things we represent in football – but when you look around and make that assessment, you don’t find any better candidates than Arsène Wenger.”

It is certainly interesting thought that all the great managers would want to work for Arsenal, but Wenger would be a very tough act to follow, considering he has lived and breathed Arsenal for the last 21 years. Is Ivan right? Is Wenger definitely the best candidate for the job?

Sam P

25 Comments

  1. I know Wenger has been criticized this season, but there is no better manager than Wenger. He has got the whole club right. It is profitable, growing, cultured & consistent. This club is the only club in the world that can be sure of success for the next 10 years. Further than that is a matter of good appointment & consistent quality. Wenger has set the club on this path. It is easier to destroy than to create. We are looking like clicking and its exciting for our fans who haven’t had this feeling for a while. Wenger’s determination to see through his conviction and philosophy in the face of severe criticism is one of the factors that make him one of the world’s best. The short-sighted fans who bay for his blood as a matter of routine may not see it; It, however, doesn’t matter. This confirmed what players maintain about Wenger: his fierce loyalty, which affords a good environment for effective mentoring and nurturing. Wenger, of course, is known for his nurturing of young players. It is a fact widely acknowledged.

    ONE SIR ARSENE WENGER.

    1. You are wrong . Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and a whole lot more are all clubs that are sure off success in the next 10 years. Guardiola , Allegri, Anccelotti, Mourinho, Zidane, Simeone are all better managers than Wenger. What evidence do you have from the last 13 years that gives you so much faith in him. He was successful at the start because he inherited the best defence in English football history. Sure he bought a few players but without that defence he would not have won anything in his first 10 years off his Arsenal career. Even the truly honest ex players like Ian Wright and Captain Fantastic Tony Adams don’t rate him anymore and they played for him.
      JembutArsene you went away for a while what brings you back

      1. actually the invincibles were not inherited at all whether it was Dein or wenger who brought the players in dont matter as they or most of them wasn’t playing for Arsenal when he took over .
        Im not a wenger fan at all and i wish he would leave the club but that statement was wrong .
        In fact i think it was only Ashley cole and Keown who played in the invincible team since wenger took over

  2. Doesn’t matter who the manager is if the fans are at matches undermining team morale with banners and placards and trying to get their faces on TV, fighting in the stands and making embarrassing spectacles for sports tabloids. The team will feel dispirited, unappreciated and nervous before the hostility and conflict and won’t perform at their best.

    Personally, I think Wenger is the main reason top talent comes to the club. His vision of beautiful fluid football, team solidarity and belief, and hard work set Arsenal culture apart from the rest.

    Eventually a replacement has to be found, but many clubs have made managerial changes recently with little success so it’s imperative that the best candidate be found and that the support structure at the club is planned carefully to accommodate them.

  3. Think he needs to go back and read the origin of species … Coz in the real world natural selection would have seen the wenger football gene disappear years ago … Sadly management at arsenal financial club doesn’t care about football or fans

    1. I understand your frustration but Arsenal right now got a rather strong squad mix of star players, squad players n development players. even if some of the player leaving including star player (hope the club sell all the players they really don’t need next season), i really trust the club n AW to find a suitable replacement player in the market that suit Arsenal system n style of play. many article about Arsenal by the media i stumble recently is all sort of twisting and manipulating the fact especially after AW sign the new contract. we really had a stable n strong looking squad that suit nicely with the 3 at the back system. with 2 or 3 of new players n hoping Alexis n Ozil (especially Alexis) sign their new contract, this team can challenge for the title next season. can’t wait for the pre-season.

      Support the team, moaner, if you hate.

      SING WITH ME NOW, ONE SIR ARSENE WENGER.

      1. JembutArsenal what if he don,t buy top players AGAIN like before but only pretends his chasing like always then what? it will be the same without CL no ambition no fight

        most of us are frustrated because he should of strengthen the squad in the past four years when he had the money siting in the bank but he chose not to specially couple of seasons ago when he bought “0” outfield players, those players that he should of got are now double in price,

        we all agree we have some talent and once a month they connect and play the best football in EPL but its too far and between to muster up any challenge for the title,

        we now have to show big ambition and hugely outbid and agree on players personal terms which will blow our wage structure right out of the universe to be able get the signings of the top players from clubs like City, Man-U, Chelsea, real, barca, ect ect are after,

        if you analyse it from the business point of view they “the management” actual set Arsenal back in finances, we are losing supporters we could of added to our numbers and in return negotiate better sponsorship and also as i said now we have to pay so much more to have what we need as players and salaries, example we offered around 27M for Higuain Napoli bought him for 40M and now his worth 90M that’s just one example if you listen to AW the list of players we could of signed and didn’t you work out the sum

  4. These last five seasons is when the judgement is fair and should be forthcoming on Arsene. From the time after we moved, up until five seasons ago, Arsene actually done better than expected. This is really why people were so critical, because Arsene gave them a false dawn when in reality we should have seen many darker nights. Not everyone gets that but it’s true. Adams is one of his biggest detractors, even he said Arsene was one hundred the right man to bring Arsenal through that stage of development, he proved as much. But along the way Arsene has lost some of what made him great. Some fans think our ambition should and was still the same back then to what our ambition is at now. This is way off. Some think Leicester proves there point even though Leicester is in the time frame I mentioned, looking at you A over T. Back then also my recollection is Fergie and utd, very strong. Mour and Chelsea, very strong. City, becoming a force. It’d be the equivalent of Seville winning the Spanish title right now ahead of the two Madrid’s and Barcelona, it just wouldn’t happen. Or Leverkusen/Dortmund winning right now with three Bayern’s in the league. I know not many will agree but the truth is what it is, the truth.

      1. Again, time frame. Read it again, I didn’t say these last five were a false dawn, but I believe he’s underachieved in these last five all the same.

  5. Wenger wouldn’t be a tough act to follow, because Arsenal consistently under perform, and the club is regressing at an alarming rate. Ferguson was a tough act to follow, because he was arguably the greatest club manager ever, and left ManU right at the top as league champions. Arsenal haven’t been anywhere near the top for over a decade under Wenger, which included a baron run of nine years without a single trophy!

    Wenger would have been sacked years ago under normal circumstances, and people need to realise that the only reason he is still in charge, is 100% down to the profit he brings into the club. His longevity has nothing to do with sporting achievement, or the potential of sporting achievement.

    Wenger has done a lot of damage to his legacy, and I fear he’ll completely destroy it over the next 2/4 years.

    1. Thanks ThirdMan. Was penning a similar reply when my phone battery gave up.

      It is as clear as the nose on your face that Wenger is just about the wrong man for the job in wanting future success.

      Why?

      He has serially failed as have his teams. This breeds an atmosphere of mediocrity and satisfaction helped by an owner who just doesn’t give a s£it. 13 years without a PL and 21 without any sniff of success in Europe is no measure of succcess no matter how someone try’s to put a spin on it.

      If Stan Stan the ferret wearing man, or Ivan the terrible were interested in fottoballing success they would have romanced allegri for the last four months to bring in a guy who made Barca over two legs look like an impotent squid. He this Saturday will most likely bring the UCL to the old lady like he has with recent titles. There are numerous others who could have helped change the atmosphere within our club both psychologically and in terms of football ideas and success.

      But of course, Wenger was the ‘safe’ option in terms of trying to maintain our position (and therefore our financial stability) in the top four whilst being the scapegoat and buffer for Stan and his lack of interest.

      We could slip to mid table this coming year mark my words as there will be no effort to secure the best or be the best. This has been evident for far too many years and will remain so whilst financial success is above football success at AFC.

      1. Many of you are not happy that wenger is staying. That’s fair enough, but instead of discussing wenger all the time let’s talk about Arsenal. The FA cup win was wonderful but we are out of the CL next season. Once out of it , getting back in is no formality.
        With over £200 million in the bank how does everyone expect the club to react? You want a prediction for next season when we haven’t done any business, same with our rivals? Reaching. You crack on and make half-baked predictions, I’ll wait until the summer is over and use the “stats” to analyze things better. After calling yourself a “stats person” its pretty hilarious to suggest there’s a likelihood Arsenal will “fall well below 5th” given we’ve been outside the top 4 once in 20 years.

        Do tell me where Spurs would be without Kane?
        Tell me what Liverpool would’ve done without Coutinho?
        Tell me how United would’ve done without Zlatan?
        How Chelsea would’ve done without Hazard?
        How City would’ve done without Aguero?

        All pathetic arguments with no other intention than to speculate bollocks. All that from a “stat guy”…. OK then.

        WHAT A TRUE FAN EH @rseboy?

        SING WITH ME NOW, ONE SIR ARSENE WENGER.

        1. @JembutArsene

          You reply to many comments on here, but rarely do actually back up anything you say with evidence, or do you give a detailed, and well thought out argument as to why Wenger is the right man.

          Wenger hasn’t won a league title for 13 years. Since that win we’ve only finished second twice. Over the last four years, Wenger has had a fantastic opportunity to win the league what with the stadium paid off, financial restraints lifted, and all of our rivals weakened as they all went through their respective transitional periods, because all of them changed managers. Wenger has really struggled to juggle Champions League football with the league, and it will be even harder with Thursday night football. All of our rival managers will probably improve given it will be their second full season, apart from Pochettino, whom I think it’s his fourth season.

          Given what I’ve said, which includes many facts, why do you think Wenger is the right man to win the league for us, or even challenge for it?

          I expect a flippant response from you, but if you truly are an Arsenal fan, then it would be interesting to see a detailed answer from you.

        2. “Many of you are not happy that wenger is staying. That’s fair enough, but instead of discussing wenger all the time let’s talk about Arsenal”, but JembutArsene do you always discuss Arsenal or Wenger? you always wanna sing there is always one Arsene, are you really interested in discussing the CLUB?

  6. There are two types of manager that would want to work at Arsenal:

    (1) The kind that knows you could get paid £10 million per year with the only expectations being to finish 4th and win the odd domestic cup

    (2) The type that recognises it’s a massive football club with huge financial resources, that could be a powerhouse of European football with a motivated manager and proper financial support from the owners

    The last 10 years have been scenario number (1). Hopefully with Kroenke and Gazidis saying that they want to win major trophies, pressure from the board for Wenger to stop his pointless “Favourites” project and start buying top quality players, and Usmanov lurking in the background with his big fat cheque book, we can finally move to scenario number (2). COYG!

    1. Trophies won since Arsène Wenger came to English football:

      Arsenal – 16
      Tottenham – 2

      This would be perfect news. Screw the negativistas, you can go support other clubs where their negativity will be deemed an asset. In a way, its all part of the game, the ups, the downs, the happiness, being angry, being positive, being negative, we won’t feel alive if it was not so. My view of Arsenal fans (and fans in general), is that if the team puts in the effort and shows determination, fans will respect them that much more. If the manager/coach displays his ability to prepare for games well, out think rivals and find good players, then the fans will support and respect them too. After all, fans pay for the performances, tha’ts why they boo at a bad stage play, bad music concert etc. Football is no different. Also found it mildly amusing how the pundits were saying why didn’t Arsenal play like they played against Chelsea in the final during the season. We won games we ‘shouldn’t’ have won; like with 10 men for almost the whole match against Everton, and against the champions in the fa cup final with a depleted defence (with a 21yr old rookie & a 37 yr old who had played only 37mins of football all season in central defence). How could you have not noticed.

      IN ARSENE WE TRUST.

      1. Spursy have gone some 20 years + chasing our shadow. In that time, we won multiple league and F.A cups, built a new stadium and up until last year regarded as the 5th most valuable club in the world. Looking at those facts, we should have at least won the title ONCE in the last 6 years and have an amazing squad that can go toe to toe with Madrid, Bayern etc. But yet it is Tottenham who currently is a BETTER club, soon to have a new stadium etc. You know why? Cause their manager is younger, more passionate and complacency is something he does not tolerate. How can people really think Wenger will change over night? He has been doing the same bs for as long as I can think. The only two things that bring me joy right now are Holding, and our new formation. Other than that expect a bs transfer window yet again and a bottle job come early next year

  7. IN
    Kolasinac FREE
    Onyekuru £8 millions
    Isco (last year of contract)
    Goretzka (last year of contract)
    Lacazette (2 years left)

    OUT
    Giroud £20 mils
    Perez £17 mils
    Campbell £10 mils
    Elneny £7 mils
    Ospina £7 mils
    Debuchy £5 mils
    Jenkinson £5 mils
    Sanogo Packet of biscuits

    Odd thing is, this wouldn’t even be so expensive and most of those who needs to be sold aren’t even featuring for Arsenal (Debuchy, Jenkinson, Campbell, Sanogo, Perez).

  8. “Stan, Ivan, here is Max Allegri’s CV as promised”..

    Max Allegri – Juventus, from 2014-2017

    Scudetto – 5 times in a row (yes the Italian league is not the PL but still some feet!)

    2015 Champions League final – runners up

    Coppa Italia x 2

    Supercoppa x 1

    2017 Champions league final – winners? or runner up? TBC

    Stan: ” yeh, that’s real nice..but can he keep us in a position
    Where my bank balance grows without any investment from me?”

    Assistant; ” probably not sir, he is extremely ambitious!”

    Ivan: ” well in all honesty I don’t think Arsenal is he Place for him then”

    Stan: “agreed, now..light me a cigar and comb my wig for me will ya!? It’s in the glass case in the corner there next to my baseball cards”

  9. Well, nice words about Wenger. I don’t disagree 100%, but I really miss some more specific goals and also I miss some criticism of our results this year.
    We were miles behind title winners Chelsea and also miles behind Spurs. We were a bit behind City and we got totally humiliated by Bayern. Is that really progress or good enough?
    And on what facts or signs is any belief that next season will be better based? I just don’t see it.

  10. Thing that makes me laugh about Wenger is he says he could of left and joined any club in the world but the fact is he would of been gone after a season at ALL the big clubs in Europe if he didnt get close to their leagues titles or CL , in fact if i remember correct when he was at Monaco he took them to the CL final , did he build on that no he sold of most of the team the next season (sound familiar with the invincibles ?) and they struggled, he got the sack and went to JAPAN 🙂
    His reputation was made at Arsenal and in my opinion 20 years in the CL and appearing in 1 (one) final doesnt make him a legend at all , 3 prems in 20 years isnt that great.
    For you fans that only supported Arsenal since Wenger came here is the record of George Graham and he was at the club far less then wenger .
    George Grahams record at Arsenal
    First Division (2): 1988–89, 1990–91
    League Cup (2): 1986–87, 1992–93
    FA Charity Shield (1): 1991 (shared)
    FA Cup (1): 1992–93
    UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1): 1993–94

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