So the Arsenal season is finally over except for our FA Cup Final, but although we have got more points than last season, and the highest ever points total for a 5th place side, the protests about Arsene Wenger are still gathering pace.
This is the first time in 21 years that Arsenal have finished out of the Top Four, and although it’s a fact that Wenger has been a big factor in making the Gunners into one of the top sides in Europe there is a growing faction that are calling for Wenger’s head. But there are still a lot of support for Le Prof, and one of those that has come out in his favour is his famous long-time rival, Sir Alex Ferguson, who says that he feels very sorry for the Frenchman. Ferguson said: “At the moment, of course, with the ridiculous situation of the pressure Arsene is under, I just wonder if they realise the job he’s done.
“The most amazing thing about him is this: he has come through a forest of criticism for months now, and has never bowed. He has seen it right through, he has shown a determination, a stubbornness. I think when you look at that, it’s a quality, and I’m not sure they’ll ever get another manager like that.
“It’s quite easy to say ‘Get rid of him’, but who do you get? Who do you get in to keep that club the way they are for the next 20 years?
“I really feel sorry for him because I think he’s shown outstanding qualities, and I think he has handled the whole situation. I don’t know many that have done that.”
There are very few managers that stay in one job at the top of the Premier League nowadays, and the ex-United boss is worried that Wenger may be the last one of his kind. “I hope not,” Fergie responded. “because I think that stability that a manager like Arsene Wenger has brought to Arsenal, and Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, myself at United… there’s no evidence that sacking a manager brings success.
“But there is evidence, through myself, Clough and Wenger, that you can gain success with long-termism.”
It would seem that the Arsenal fans have now had enough of great financial success without a Premier League title, and are looking for an injection of new blood. But considering what he has achieved for our beloved team, surely you have to feel a little bit sorry for the way he has been treated this season?
Sam P