Zinedine Zidane is claimed to be keen on working under former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger at Paris Saint-Germain next season.
The Gunners legend hasn’t worked with any club since leaving north London back in 2018, instead taking up a role with FIFA instead.
While it has always been talked about that he should be brought into the fold at the Emirates, on the board or as Director of Football, he is now said to be earmarked for the role at PSG instead.
Zidane is claimed to have issues about playing under Leonardo, the current DoF in the French capital, but would like to work with Wenger at PSG instead, GFFN cites FootMercato as reporting.
I can’t imagine that any of our fanbase would begrudge Wenger to take up a role with PSG, whether it be as manager or any other role for that matter, and I’m sure he would be a huge addition for them if they could make that work.
Whether he would accept the move however is another story, but if he did accept, questions would have to be asked of our club once again as to why they couldn’t have convinced him to take up a role in our backroom instead.
Would any of you begrudge Arsene if he accepted a role in France?
Patrick
Wenger will be fine working elsewhere than in Arsenal. Especially at this time when fans complain of everything. If Wenger does return, some fans might say he’s automatically running the club from the board room. Thus, every failure will be attributed to his return.
Plus we’re only just starting to get over the terrible culture he created. Would be strange to bring the same man back who was responsible for that culture.
Jonbo, I find your ignorance intolerable. You mean the culture of attractive football, the culture of success, the culture of invincibility, the culture of nurturing 6outh instead of buying success, the culture of class and quality, the culture of champions league football for 20 years?
How old are you, 10?
You judge a living legend by his last four years? Do your research you discombobulated, bandwagon- jumping, I’ll informed sheep.
Wow!!!!! Couldn’t have said it better!!!!
No wonder AW refuses to come back to where he belongs, with “fans” like Jonbo.
Let’s hope MA gets his wish and Le Prof returns as an Ambassador for the club – I fully support MA in this, as every sensible Gooner surely does?
Soccer Boy does point out another very good reason why Arsene should think twice, however.
@ken1945
Although you seem like an experienced person ken, as we know, there’s no correlation between experience and intelligence.
You often display ZERO critical thinking. You seem to think if one criticizes someone, that must mean you do not like/rate that person. Which is laughable!!!
I acknowledge Wenger was a legend, but did he make consistently big mistakes…YES! Is it acceptable for one to call out these mistakes? Of course it is!
In your world, it seems one is ONLY allowed to praise Wenger when assessing his Arsenal career. Somehow he’s responsible for the Invincibles, but is not responsible for us going 9 years straight without a trophy? That doesn’t even make any sense! That is cherry picking, showing a bias, and creating a narrative. I prefer to look at the whole picture.
Wenger played a massive role in taking us to the top again, and played a massive role in our regression.
good on you Jonbo for showing some much-needed perspective regarding our former manager…that said, in retrospect, your original comment appears to have been a bit of a troll job considering the much more balanced approach of your lengthy rebuttals…regardless of the means, it justified the ends…Cheers
That’s why Wenger will never come back to Arsenal nor any EPL club. These days we have so-called fans who pray for all the bad things to happen so that they will have an excuse to say,”I told you so.”
That was better said Jonbo why didn’t you say that first lol
That means we will only get to sign disciplined players which is best for the process.
@Fuzzwah
Equally, I find your ability to ignore facts quite remarkable! You also do not seem to accept that people can change, and for the worse.
9 years straight without winning a thing!
14 years straight of barely even challenging for the league!
last 8/9 years in Europe were complete humiliation!
If that is your idea of a culture of success, I’d love to know what a culture of failure looks like for you at a club like Arsenal? HAHA!
And this obsession with some of our fans with CL qualification. The real question, what were we doing in the competition? I’d rather have what was happening with Chelsea and Liverpool, missing out many years on the CL, but winning it and performing well once participating.
You say that I should do my research, but clearly you haven’t in the slightest!!! Wenger is a legend, but lets not forget the last 12 years were really poor.
Spot on Jimbo. Wenger is the only manager in the history of the club to not win a trophy in 9 years. He’s also the only post war manager to not win a trophy in 6 years and keep his job.
*Jonbo
Cheers Herr.
It’s bizarre that some on hear cannot take ONE negative thing said about Wenger.
For me he is an absolute legend, who’s given me my greatest Arsenal memories, but I am not going to pretend all those years of decline under his management didn’t happen, and the absolute mess that he and Gazidis left for the next in line to clean up.
Where oh where did I say AW never made a mistake?
Perhaps you weren’t on JA when I did an article about Wenger’s mistakes?
You said, quite clearly, that he created a “terrible culture”…. that has nothing to do with how you then replied to the two posts that questioned that statement.
So, perhaps you could explain what you meant by those words and also pinpoint those terrible years of decline starting from when?
I’m pleased he has given you your best memories of The Arsenal, me also… he certainly hasn’t given me my worst memories of The Arsenal, what about you?
Wenger was largely responsible for some of the most terrible days in recent memory – 28 August of a certain year for example.
I recently stumbled on to an interview involving one of the tormentors-in-chief on that day. A horrible experience to relive.
Sorry, but whilst I praise and respect what Arsene did in the early years of his time at Arsenal there were latter day experiences that were unbearable.
Besides people dubiously mention years without trophy, years marked with decline, forgetting additional battles that Wenger and Arsenal ultimately went through in the hands of the world football organizing authorities and the media because of his very high standards in the game. That is part of the problems Arsenal is still having now despite the fact that Wenger is already long gone from Arsenal.
Wrong. Factually – wrong. Do your homework.
Really ? Exactly how ? I’ve done my homework 😄
Jonbo, ignore those empty cans making noise about Mr. Wenger’s greatness.
0/22 Carabo cups
0/22 European cups
3/22 EPL titles
7/22 FA cups
However, he must be some genius to hoodwink his employers and claim multimillion wage packets for such mediocrity. And I admire him only for this trait. And talking about beautiful
football, the end result matters. 8-2, 6-0, 5-0, 4-4s must be beautiful for some.
The man should have been sacked after conceding 8 goals to ManU in 2011, the highest ever conceded by us in the league. Even the teams in in 1920s conceded 7 goals to WHU, WBA, Newcastle. Take that Mr Wenger’s worshipers!
I don’t care if he joins PSG in any role – director of football or director of housekeeping, his choice, I suggest he could do a yeoman service to us by imparting his knowledge to CFC if it helps them to fall below us.
Talking of 8 ….
He never finished 8th in the league though did he LC ?
Sorry 8th Twice .
Your hate for AW will follow you to your grave. May AW haunt you in your dreams.
Condition around the club management has changed. Given the budget M A has not sure AW would have gone down as quoted. We also forget out of fields development apartments and our home now. On what budget yet continued with good football. Anyway. No good leaders without the dark part. We chose to remember what makes us happy
No manager in PL history will come to close to AW putting the board room politics aside. He brought in M A gave him responsibility and many legends. He is part of our strongest history we like it or not. Handled most difficult players, Gallas, MA, Flamini, Patrick, the Beast etc
Fuzzwah you have a point but not a balanced one. 2015/2016 comes to mind, when we signed just Petr Cech. Cazorla gets injured and our replacement was Elneny, after which our season crashed. This is one example out of many. You know why Wenger won’t come back? Because he’s quite an honest man who won’t lie to himself that he deserves all the glory that some fans shower on him. He knows he messed up in his latter years and some of that mess has kept Arsenal stunted. He got intoxicated with power and disregarded the fans year in year out, and under his leadership a major rift was birth amongst the Arsenal faithfuls. I’ll build him a statue and bring him back only if he’s willing to work under certain conditions that’ll not derail the new culture that’s being instilled in the club. And we all know Wenger won’t want someone calling the shots and telling him what he can or can’t do.. If we’re really being frank and honest with ourselves, this new regime is kind of (not totally though) “anti-wenger “
ditto
Well you certainly told him! And he needed telling too!
I think most of the other points have been argued but I’d say AW’s project youth failed, sadly (what came from that – couple of fa cups?), and we ended up signing expensive players like Ozil, sanchez, Laca, Auba and probably a couple I’m forgetting – that happened under wenger – basically trying to buy some success.
We got arrogant, thinking that the stadium move made us an “elite” club, when in fact it coincided with our declining from being one of the top sides in Europe.
Prior to all this, wenger was a genius, a godsend, but he did it mostly by *buying* young, hungry and mostly inexpensive players to build upon what already there. Players like Adams and keown drove the winning culture first, then the vieiras and Henrys.
We are not getting over any “any terrible culture ” you think Arsene created. We are making it worse. Many serious players is now seeing our once so much club as no go area with a petty coach who pick fight with the players. Several other coaches move out the players they don’t want without creating any drama. The only thing we have to attract any good player is to pay them obscene wages.
Oh Jonbo… How I missed the “terrible culture he created”. During those terrible years, we were sitting on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, never below 4th.
Spot on again.
I would find it rather hypocritical of him becoming a DoF anywhere, considering his views on that role.
Fuzzwah, would that class and culture include taking the urine out of the match going supporters by playing weakened teams in semi finals against bitter rivals ? Would that same class and culture include blaming the fans for the team not winning the PL in ’16 ? As for the CL, it was 19 years, and in all of those years he amassed the grand total of winning 8 ko ties !
Well detailed negatives from the Wenger years – let’s even up the score – In all those years, he reached the CL k/o stages 18 times , two semi finals and a final – missed out on european football once – three doubles – seven fa cup wins – the Invincibles – top four in all but the last two seasons – dealt with the situation of the Emirates – saw the building of Hales End with the profits from his transfers – the takeover of the kronkie’s – losing David Dein – the introduction of oil money and roubles :
While, since his departure, the new regime has won the fa cup while using those inherited players who needed shifting out – finished 8th two seasons in a row – broken nearly every negative record there is – spent over £300,000,000 since gazidis took control of contracts – brought in over seventeen new players – knocked out of the fa cup in the 3rd and 4th rounds – lost European football after two decades – given away players – loaned out players with ridiculous buy out clauses – not buying one new senior player in the latest transfer window – reinstating as captain a player who took the urine out of the match going supporters – sends out on loan a CB widely recognised as a future star and spends £50,000,000 on another CB – letting our only two recognised CF’s run down their contracts – create a culture where top players won’t discuss a transfer to our club, not even interested in joining The Arsenal – some record of achievements in such a short time.
I’m sure you can add some positives to that list, but not any european ones unfortunately since AW and UE left
Let’s hope that MA does a better job than AW and becomes the most successful manager in our history.
3 Doubles ? Correct me if I missed one, but I’m sure it was 2, in ’98 and ’02. In the CL he reached the KO stages 15 times, not 18. Magnificent record in the FA Cup, but it would only have been 4 if the BoD had stuck to the post war sacking of managers not winning a trophy in 6 years, as he would have been gone in 2011. The Invincibles, another magnificent record, Martin Keown should get some praise as well, as it was his idea that Kolo should play at CB. Dealt with the situation at the Emirates ?
Knocked out of the FA Cup in the 3rd and 4th rounds also happened under Wenger, Blackburn and Forest as did giving away players. As yet Arteta hasn’t signed any Asian player just to boost shirt sales in Asia.
Wenger also allowed a player to take the urine out of the match going fans, when he never disciplined Ian Wright for hanging out of the dressing room window and swearing at the fans after we lost at home to Blackburn in the 97/98 season.
You bring up Saliba. He’s doing well in a weaker domestic league, but in the EL according to the French press. His marks out of 10 have been quite poor in that competition.
Which top players have refused to even talk to the club ? If you mean the player that joined Juve from Florentina, his agent wouldn’t talk to any club bar Juve, including the officials at Florentina.
Fingers crossed that MA goes on to match 2 of the 3 records that GG set. He’s already matched one by winning the FA Cup as a player and the manager of The Arsenal. Needs to win the League to get the 2nd. Shame he can’t equal it if he manages to win us a European trophy.
So you believe MA can achieve top 4 this season and better than AW?
@Kenny, where have I posted that 🤔 ?
I never said that you posted that. I’m asking a question.
You then should have started with the word Do instead of So if you were asking a question.
Who knows what the next few months/years have in store for us 🤷.
He might well achieve the fabled top 4. He may even go on and achieve more than any other manager that the club has employed given time.
There was a number of mitigating factors to Arsenal and Wengers decline ladies and gents:
-David Dien leaving after he proposed Abramovich and the board threw it out
-The Boardroom post Dien was incompetent in regards to the modern game as the next point proves
-The introduction of Kronke
-The hiring of Gazidis the clueless wonder
-Oil and state money funding Chelski and Citeh
-The move to the Emirates
-Barca, Chelski and Citeh constantly tapping up our players
-Kronke becoming the majority share holder kicking out the fanshare programme and gaining total control
-Lack of serious investment in the squad
-Relying on Wenger to somehow find the next Viera and Henry some how under the noses of the rich vultures who tracked our scouts every move
-Citeh buying all Wengers potential targets
-The market became too big for Arsenal because of PSG Chelski and Citeh
So when you think about it Wengers tenure was defined by mismanagement from behind the scenes. As well as state and oil funded clubs destroying the culture and ethics of the game we love.
Wenger was the unfortunate rabbit in the headlights. He was trying to build a Utd style financial super power but we did it too late. As Utd and Fergie had over a decade of success with no challenge until Wenger. But we then had to deal with Utd and 2 clubs with bottomless pockets
James, the perfect history lesson.
Let’s hope MA can come near to it.
I wish him well.
I find it difficult to understand why so many professionals (such as Zidane, Ferguson, Klopp, Pep Arteta, Henry, Vieira etc etc ) hold Arsene Wenger in such high regard, while a section of our fan base don’t.
Much of what you say is true. However, Mr Wenger demonstrated a significant lack of understanding of the changing landscape of top level football. Some of his later decision making was terrible at a time when some careful management would have ensured that Arsenal remained a relevant force.
Too many issues:
Claims that there were no available players that would improve his squad. Then a Kim Kalstrom comes along.
Failure to recognize the need for defensive cover or better squad depth
Failure to sign a top class striker. It took ages to sign even someone like Lacazette – and even then there were various caveats that I won’t go into here.
Failure to recognize that he needed a better recruitment system.
Tactical limitations
etc. etc.
What I still find funny is people still believe we improve more than Wenger’s regime.
I will like you to please convince me how we’re better than Wenger’s regime.
Wenger was 100% better than Arteta attacking wise and Arteta was better than Wenger defensively.
As much as Wenger is porous at the back, you can still confidently say you will beat the likes of Burnley. But in Arteta’s regime, you don’t know who is going to turn up.
I see people talking about 8-2 and all that, but can you confidently say we won’t be beaten 8-2 with this kind of football we’re playing? We’re only lucky we’re not in Europe and not peered against the likes of Bayern and Barca of those days.
What makes it funny is that, I kept hearing the team is good and we’re improving with the team we have and I ask myself how?
The best of Arteta’s season is his first season and that’s with the players people call dross.
And even at that, Emery left his team at 8th position with the same point with Chelsea at 7tth and Tottenham are below us, but both team qualified for Europe automatically but Arteta still manage to qualify us with the dross players
So if we’re truly improving, why don’t we perform than his first season? Atleast his first season gave us hope before his 2nd season quench every hope we have.
If you think organizing youths for 5 years will make us compete then keep dreaming. Ask Dortmund what they achieve by there youth system if not for only income. Let the process keep deceiving you.
I don’t even know Arsenal fans can easily be deceived with youth projects. In a time where Newcastle are joining the big Boys?
Anyway, maybe the improvement you guys are talking about is not competing with the Big Boys but buying youths, developing them and then sell them to the big boys. If that is your improvement, then I agree with you.
And on the issue of Arteta having problems with players.
Many teams have issue with there players but all know how to manage them.
Tuchel have issues with Lukaku but still managing him so his value won’t reduce.
Conte has big issue with Diego Costa but still manage to take big money from Athl Madrid
Ferran Torres has issue with Pep but they still get big money move for him.
I know Auba issue didn’t start this season, so why offer him big contract or any contract at all?
Check Auba contract clause at Barca and see how business is done.
10M was offered for Nketiah but we turn it down
20M for Niles but we turn it down, and we fully know this players don’t have future here, so why turn it down
I know we would get 20M for Laca last year but what did we do? We let them walk for free.
And you call that improvement?
I need more than that to confuse me there is improvement going on at Arsenal.
They forgot how AW financial prudence gave us the current stadium.
They forgot the current manager has only 1 FA cup using the drossy players.
They forgot that the current manager only achieved 8th positions for 2 seasons.
They forgot the current manager has spent quite a sum of money and they still accept him to stay even if he achieve lower than top 4 position at the end of season.
They forgot that they have used a lot of excuses for the current manager poor performance.
BTW, there are a few names who are new here and very anti-Arsene.
They also forget that the 8-2 humiliation and thats what it was of course, still saw us finish the season in fourth spot and CL qualification….. with a plus 25 GD, dross players and no defence, so we are told.
Pretty sure it was the loan the club got from the RBS and the bonds that gave us the new stadium, and unless Wenger was involved in those negotiations he really shouldn’t get credit for it.
I know you hate AW very much. Only Dan Smith will be able to educate you or you should see a psychologist. BTW, I only see your name recently.
Hate is too strong a word. I very, very much doubt Dan Smith could educate me about The Arsenal 🙂.
Yeah, I’m back on here after a long break and under a new name 😄