Will Arsenal really miss Wenger when he is gone?

After the banner about Arsene Wenger leaving hit the news after being held up at the FA cup game away to Hull City, despite Arsenal winning the match 4-0, the speculation has intensified but it has been going on for years. This season seems to have seen it intensify though, and the chances of the Frenchman deciding to call it a day at the end of this season look greater than ever.

One Arsenal fan who thinks that the Gooners calling for an end to the Wenger reign will regret it when he does leave, despite having written plenty of critical words himself over the years, is John Cross who wrote a very interesting piece in The Mirror this week about that banner and what might happen when the AOBs get their way. The journalist has connections and he reckons that all the sniping and questioning is getting to the boss and we could all soon be regretting this.

The gist of the argument is that Arsenal would struggle to find anyone that could as good a job as Wenger, never mind a better one. He points to the problems Man United have had under Moyes and van Gaal since the end of the Ferguson era as well as reminding us of the success we have had under the prof and the very difficult circumstances he had to work in after moving from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium.

I cannot help but agree with a lot of this but at the same time this season I have become so frustrated by the same old thing happening despite the fact there is a mountain of cash in the bank and a great opportunity provided by the failings of the other big clubs. And there are plenty of fans more cheesed off than me so the pressure on the boss is not going away.

I do fear for what will happen when Wenger leaves but does that mean he should be immune to criticism? He has to go at some point and we will have to deal with the repercussions, good or bad, so if Leicester or Tottenham beat us to the Premier League title in May, is now a good a time as any?

Tags Leicester tottenham

19 Comments

  1. we’d definitely miss him…….. But sometimes in life, in other to move on, we have to Let go……… Guess we are at such point in our Arsenal lives now!

  2. Speaking on BT Sport after the game at Anfield, paul Scholes said:

    “The last thing I want from Manchester United is for them to be happy with winning the FA Cup and coming fourth in the Premier League.

    “That’s what Arsenal do every year. You see them celebrating out on the pitch when they come fourth in the Premier League.

    “That can’t happen at Manchester United. Never in a million years.”

    After reading this piece, i don’t know if i should be mad at him for the insolence or to agree with him for the truth!…

    1. Gary Neville as a Sport Pundit used to be a big critic of AW. See how well he is doing at Valencia vehemently heading them to a plunge.. Paul Scholes should get a football mangerial role and lets see how far he gets.. Talk is Cheap..

  3. I agree that there wouldn’t be a better manager to push the club through the financial crisis of the Emirates debt. But to say there is no one that can do a better job in a financially stable Arsenal from 2013 and onward is pure delusion. The man is almost as bad as Van Gaal.
    Look at the current state of the big clubs, look at the points we shouldn’t have lost and tell me there is no manager that could have saved you those points. Come on. Get a grip, mate. Wenger is so past his prime it’s more than obvious. Any manager would do at the moment, a blooming walrus as a manager would be as successful in this season.

  4. Oh come on, the players had to hold their own meeting to turn the season around. Only signing a GK and being the only club in Europe to not sign an outfield player. Joel Campbell’s treatment, overplaying Alexis. The injury crisis that never ends. Renewing Abou Diaby’s contract twice. Mikel Arteta getting a contract. Yaya Sanogo…

    Being a successful manager is about getting your decisions right and he has come short for a decade. Stupidly we let Guardiola join City when he wanted to come to Arsenal. My only worry is Kroenke and Gazidis to appoint the right successor. The inside info is that Joachim Louw has agreed to come with Thierry as his assistant.

  5. Why compare us with MU? Are we planning to get a Moyes type of coach when Wenger leaves? There are a dozen coaches out there who could do a better job challenging for trophies than Wenger. But I admit, very few (if any) could achieve such consistency during those financially challenged years.

  6. The new Arsenal manager
    need not be a genius. He
    just has to make top 4 EPL
    and last 16 ECL. So we need
    someone good enough to make 4th place
    but not ambitious to go any higher.
    The boards view is that to be number one
    you need to spend mega millions.
    A win for Leicester may challenge that belief but on the
    other hand the board may turn it to their advantage
    by saying instead of buying Ozils 43 mill or Sanchez’s 34 mill
    we can stock up with a slew of 2 mill a pop kids like the Nigerians
    and Adelaide and a coterie of 5 mill Elnenys.
    Lets halve the transfer kitty, halve the salary’s,
    double the profit and and still get 4th.

  7. We’ll certainly miss the Boss as great personality and his unrival managenent know how at Arsenal when he leaves.

    But when is he going to leave? He still has a full season-year left on his current deal to run out after this season has ended. We all know that.

    The Arsenal supporters faction of the AOBs want the Boss to step down from his long managerial role at Arsenal, because Arsenal have not won the Barclays Premier League title in particular since they last won it in 2004. And Arsenal have not also lifted d European Cup or the Ucl trophy in their history since it was formed despite the fact that Arsenal have in the last 18 years been playing in the competion regularly without missing out.

    But hopes are not yet lost as Arsenal are still in 2 domestic and 1 Europe elite competitions vying for honours. Let every Gooner endervour to pray fervently without ceasing for Arsenal to ultimately succeed in their quests to win these 3 titles. That is important than protesting to see the Boss leaves unceremonously.

  8. As the manager of the club he is given autonomous structure to perform the duties of a manager that are just not available in City,Utd or Chelsea and the time given to them. The club does not care whether he spends. So the point being is that Wenger decides to give chances to average players and the faith in them is apparent. When he had the opportunity to sign Higuain he opted out with Giroud and Walcott having private meetings with him.

  9. He won’t send shivers down my spine and i won’t cry him a river if he leaves but i’ll surely miss the invisible manager.

  10. There’s a saying here in Africa, “he who dances a lot ends up making a mistake”.
    I think that applies to Arsene now. He should just be relieved of his duties.

  11. the definition of foolishness is “doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results”. Now this one describes non other than Wenger who thinks that keeping money in the bank will win him titles.

    1. thats the definition of insanity by Einstein by the way…so what pray tellt did he keep doing the same? is it his money? you know that he had money..the player wanted to join and the club was willing to sell? whomever you are talking about…

  12. well frankly…we fans will never know until after he’s gone. we don’t know how things work behind the scenes. so if we don’t know what value he really brings to all areas of the club…the only way to know if to take him out of the equation and see how the club fares.

    It’s time I think…and I think he see;s it too. Succession planning isn’t a knee-jerk reaction…there’s always been a “live list” for key positions…it’s part of the contingency planning (risk management) as required for prudent corporate governance. It’s just a question of how it gets executed and in what time-frame.

    The next question is what on-going role AW plays at the club, if any? That role could influence whether a particular target wants the job or not.

    Whomever gets the job, it will be about his philosophy on football and his ability to execute his philosophy, provided it fits with the brand of football Arsenal is about (or just ditch the so-called “Arsenal brand of football”). We can only guess what the expectations are from the board. There could be a a combination of a clean out- and those who don’t want to be part of the new regime. In any event, if you have more than 30% turnover of players…you’ll spend the 1st 10 games figuring out the system and how your team mate plays…even after the pre-season. Invariably the fans will play fantasy football…bring so and so, and whatshisname. We will wake up when it’s too late and realise that throwing together 11 WC players doesn’t always make a team ((hey didn’t Man City and Chelsea do that?…kinda hit-n-miss) but worse of all it destroys your youth development plans…well why have one? just keep going out and buying the next best thing.

    Let’s see what the future holds…but I have no doubt…change is coming.

  13. I think most reasonable fans critical of Wenger have no illusion that the transitional period that will follow Wenger’s departure, whenever he leaves, which will happen sooner or later, will be difficult and could see a few seasons of no CL football.

    For me Wenger has proven he has a ceiling to what he is capable of. He will not win the PL or the CL. He just doesn’t have it in him. He lacks both in terms of managerial qualities during games and tactical game preparation and he lacks in the transfer market and team building part of the game.

    What he has done during the financial lean times with respect to keeping us in the top 4 is commendable, just as I think some managers like big Sam or Pardew have done good jobs (in the past) turning potential relegation teams around. The problem is big Sam has a ceiling in his abilities as does Wenger as does Pardew.

    When the lean times were over Wenger still could not shift gears and propel us to the next level. In fact despite having a small fortune in cash available this last summer to buy some much needed reinforcements, he didn’t buy a single outfield player. We have paid a big price for this mistake.

    This January we needed with great certainty some much needed midfield reinforcements and got Elneny for £5.0 million. It doesn’t feel he got a fair chance up till now and has only been used sporadically despite early promises. In the CL gamne against Barca Flamini was still preferred to come in for Coq over Eleneny with disastrous consequences.

    There are possibly are managers available now and there were managers available who could have reduced the risk of failure after Wenger leaves, had the board been more proactive and more ambitious.

    Personally I think Pep wanted to come to Arsenal, he likes stable teams who don’t fire their manager at the first signs of trouble. I also think Klopp will prove a good manager for Liverpool. We could have had both these managers IMO. Instead we are loyal to a guy who nearly guarantees top 4 finishes but also guarantees failure in terms of winning major trophies and building an ever improving squad.

    There are still some mangers around who could succeed when given time, were Wenger failed. Some young managers with ambitions and willing to use our financial resources and willing to take some tough decisions with respect to the current squad. (ie should we keep Ramsey, Wilhsire, Ox, Theo?) Managers who can be pragmatic and have no ties to the psst.

    But never the less, it will always be a risk to change manager and in our case to change Wenger. But staying with Wenger only makes some sense if the goal is only to stay in the top 4. If the ambition is to reach the next level and compete seriously for major trophies then Wenger has shown he is not the man to do that IMO.

  14. The only thing I would miss about AW is the sight of him struggling with his coat and complaining to the fourth Official whenever we concede a goal. We should replace AW with Bilic. We are just 3 points ahead of Westham. A Manager that beat all the top teams away at the initial stage of the league. The guy is good. Employ Bilic with Henry as Assistant. That Man United failed with Moyes does not mean Arsenal will do same. Luis Enrique failed with Roma and Celts Vigo but he is a success now at Barca. He sold Sanchez and got Suarez. A more potent attack. He took the risk with 75m for Suarez. Now MSN is the best in the world. We need a younger manager who will do everything to succeed. Who has no prepared statement for failure. Bilic can be that guy. Worst case scenario, we miss out on CL. What have we done with it for almost 20 years? Just one final since 1996. lol. Forget about Wenger. He has seen better days. He is at his wits end.

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