Wenger should leave Arsenal and run for Prime Minister!

With the General Election in England coming up in six weeks as well as the end of the football season, Sporting Index have done a survey asking which Premier League manager would voters prefer to have running the UK, and the Arsenal Arsene Wenger came out on top! There are many Gooners that want Wenger to leave the Emirates this summer, but what a way to go! One thing is for sure, he would manage the economy prudently – and would have no problems with Brexit negotiations considering the amount of languages he speaks!

Anyway Here is the Press release in full…….

Nearly 1 in 5 Brits would choose Arsene Wenger to run the country

As the English Premier League season finale draws near, research by Sporting Index finds 16 per cent of people in UK would pick under-pressure Frenchman as Prime Minister

Tuesday, 16th May 2017 – Research by Sporting Index has found that nearly one fifth of the British public would vote for under-fire Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as Prime Minister and the country’s leader.

Ahead of next month’s general election, the leading political spread betting firm commissioned pollsters Opinium to identify which English Premier League manager would gather the most number of votes to take the Westminster hot-seat, and found that from those who picked a specific manager, 16 per cent would vote for Gunners’ gaffer Wenger.

If the results are based on football managerial success and personality, the results may come as a surprise to many, given that the Frenchman has struggled to help his side mount a serious title challenge this season and has refused to step down thus far. The Gunners could also miss out on Champions League qualification for the first time in Wenger’s 20-year tenure.

The debate around whether he should stay on at Arsenal has divided opinion in the football world, with many saying he should remain in charge while other fans have called for him to leave and have paraded ‘Wenger Out’ banners at the Emirates. Wenger, who Sporting Index last week predicted would last one more year in the job, has also been likened to Jeremy Corbyn due to the latter’s current circumstances as leader of the Labour party – with the self-confessed Arsenal fan also finding opposition amongst his own.

Next Premier League bosses in favour to take over after Wenger are, in joint second place, Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho. While Klopp is relatively new to the Premier League having joined Liverpool in October 2015, Manchester United technician Mourinho is a Premier League old-guard having managed Chelsea for two spells across six seasons, steering them to three league titles, one FA Cup and three League Cups. He has also already won this season’s League Cup with United and is on the brink of winning the Europa League.

The highest number of votes for a British manager go to Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce, who leads the way with nine per cent. Allardyce was infamously sacked as England manager after only 67 days at the helm following an undercover investigation around football agent fees. However, public opinion shows he would have public backing over the remaining eight British managers in the top division where he pips the likes of fellow Englishmen Eddie Howe (five per cent) and Sean Dyche (four per cent), Scot David Moyes (four per cent) and Welshmen Tony Pulis (four per cent) and Mark Hughes (three per cent).

Arsenal boss Wenger also dominates all three the demographic groups from the survey sample, securing majority votes from 18-34 year olds (15 per cent), 35-54 year olds (15 per cent) and over 55s (20 per cent).

When broken down by region, Wenger also beats the rest. Of those who voted for managers from the North-East, North-West, Yorkshire and Humber, East and West Midlands, East of England, London, South-East and South-West England, the Arsenal manager comes out on top in each region.

Ed Fulton, political trading spokesman for Sporting Index, said: “After yet another enthralling Premier League season in England, timed nicely in the run up to a snap election next month, we thought it would be interesting to identify which manager would generate the most support if they were to run for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

“While we were slightly surprised to see Arsene Wenger run out on top given his team’s recent poor form, his experience managing Arsenal for 20 years has not gone unnoticed. While trophies haven’t come thick and fast over the last decade, people clearly don’t forget the golden years of ‘The Invincible’ season in 2003-2004, winning back to back FA Cups in 2002 and 2003, and reaching the Champions League final in 2006. His experience seems to suggest people think of him as prime candidate.

“We’ve seen American history feature high profile celebrities running for top political jobs, including Arnold Schwarzenegger achieving success when being voted into office as Mayor of California, and most recently global businessman Donald Trump winning US Presidency – so is it completely inconceivable to imagine Arsene Wenger as the county’s Prime Minister?”

Sporting Index/Opinium Full result below

Who would you vote to run the country out of the current Premier League managers? (Excluding ‘don’t know’ answers.)

British Public

Arsene Wenger 16%

Jurgen Klopp 13%

Jose Mourinho 13%

Sam Allardyce 9%

Antonio Conte 8%

Mauricio Pochettino 5%

Pep Guardiola 5%

Eddie Howe 5%

David Moyes 4%

Tony Pulis 4%

Sean Dyche 4%

Mark Hughes 3%

Slaven Billic 2%

Craig Shakespeare 2%

Ronald Koeman 2%

Paul Clement 2%

Marco Silva 1%

Walter Mazzarri 1%

Steve Agnew 1%

Claude Puel 0%