Arsene Wenger and Arsenal’s kinship has been one of the most consistent relations in the footballing world over the past two decades, and to say that he has entirely rejuvenated the English side in his outstretched term, with a plenty of Cups and titles to his name, will be nothing but an understatement. In these 20 years, he has won three Premier League Manager of the season awards (1998, 2002, 2004), and fifteen Premier League Manager of the month awards, with October 2015 being the last month. To have a cabinet, full of trophies like Wenger has, should inspire you more than anything else. Keeping his trophies aside, let me admit that he has turned several unknowns into stars with Thierry Henry, Sagna, Pires, Fabregas, Denis Bergkamp, and Robin Van Persie being the notable ones. Unlike other managers, he has hardly been under pressure in his long run. When it comes to tactic and philosophy, the Frenchman is one of the most mesmerizing managers, and there are countless examples to show that they’ve paid off more often than not.
Arsene Wenger has worked quite hard to earn the RESPECT of the fans and players, and he rightly deserves a salute from all of us as he been a credit to the profession of football managers.
But it isn’t always doom and gloom. The historical relationship is deteriorating with time, and last season, the angry fans came up with erroneous banners, fights, and visible tattoos, and all of them have questioned Arsene Wenger’s tenure. Well, to be honest, there is absolutely nothing in those protests. The main reason behind all these mishaps has been Wenger’s inability to mount the Premier League in the past 12 years. The fans are losing their faith and if things go on like this, Wenger won’t be lasting for too long at Arsenal’s dugout despite what the Silent Stan says.
The Gunners did quite well in the first half of the 2015/16 season, however, a handful of injuries and inconsistency stopped them from winning the League title for the 12th consecutive year. In fact, with certain teams performing way below their expectations, it was arguably the best season for Wenger to win the prestigious title, but Leicester were too good to be beaten this time. Pathetic but undeniable.
But, has Arsene Wenger really gotten too old for this job? Is he still the best candidate? A detailed discussion would clear these doubt.
REASONS WHY WENGER MUST BE FIRED ASAP:
‘CRAPPY’ DECISIONS IN TRANSFER MARKET
Signing pricey players have never been Arsene Wenger’s cup of tea to be fair.
Even when he is having sufficient money and the full support of buying a world-class player, he sets himself back, and this might often prove out to be Wenger’s biggest mistake in his Arsenal reign. He had golden chances of signing some of the modern-day stars like Luis Suarez, Vincent Kompany, Gerard Pique, Angel Di Maria, Xabi Alonso, Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, Ibrahimović, and even Ronaldo and Messi. However, due to lack of concrete interest, Arsene Wenger missed out on these deals and how much do you think he regrets this now? Had any of these players been signed, Arsenal’s fortune would have been much different.
Even at present, he seems to be interested in a host of match-winners including Aubameyang, Draxler, Lacazette, Higuaín, and Kostas Manolas, however, no one knows when (or ever) he will be putting his money on them! The fans desperately want him to splash the cash, but, Wenger seems to be the least bothered.
Arsenal’s signings in the recent years – other than Laurent Koscielny, Petr Cech, Alexis Sanchez, and Mesut Ozil – have been mostly flops Yaya Sanogo, Park Chu-Young, Gervinho are a few names from that list.
Wenger always thinks of tomorrow, but, the fans and players want it NOW.
REPETITION OF THE SAME STORY … EVERY YEAR
The same woeful story of a trophy-less season is being narrated to the fans every year (Do keep in mind that I am not talking of FA Cups, I am talking about the Champions League and the Premier League). Apart from the Premier League, they play Champions League football every year, but reaching the semi-finals has been nothing more than a far-off dream. And that’s the reason why Arsenal have lost the ‘UNPREDICTIBLE’ tag. Their same dull season can be predicted months before because one knows quite well that the weaknesses won’t receive any attention in the transfer window.
NO ATTENTION TO THE COMPETITION
Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City will be looking forward to defending their League title next season whereas fireworks will be taking place in Manchester when Jose Mourinho’s red side will be fighting off Pep Guardiola’s men in blue. Contrary to it, Antonio Conte’s overwhelming tactic and Jürgen Klopp’s significant upgrades will be heating Premier League’s environment next season. Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham, Walter Mazzarri’s Watford, and Ronald Koeman’s Everton will be no less.
Clubs like Manchester United and Manchester City are very busy in adding quality to their existing squad ahead of the big kick-off. The policy of “ONE OR TWO PLAYERS” won’t be helping you when your opponents have already invested a whooping sum of £100m on some of the finest players from all around the globe. In a nutshell, Wenger will have to analyse and act according to the ambience. Lack of signings would end up strengthening the rivals.
This needs to be addressed.
Manchester united aren’t doing too well since Sir Alex Fergusons’ retirement, and this case might be the only reason why Arsenal’s board doesn’t want to end Wenger’s tenure at the Emirates. At least, he is satisfying the needs. Wenger’s successor might not do so. The stiff upper lip is simply not working. Time for a change. To paraphase the current president of the U.S: ‘Yes, We Can’.
This article is written by Pratik Das.
