Arsene Wenger delivered one of the most surprising remarks in the press conference at the end of last month when he expressed that he is open to the idea of managing England one day. With the incident that happened with Sam Allardyce shaking things up totally, the F.A are looking to consider managers of different nationalities once again after the latest duo of Roy Hodson and Allardyce disappointing largely in different ways.
Wenger’s contract at Arsenal runs until the end of this season and there is a small chance of the Frenchman taking the managerial post of the England national team from caretaker manager Gareth Southgate, though.
We all know that Arsene Wenger has been a revolutionary in terms of his management process at Arsenal, transforming the club and the players since he took over. After working in England for 20 years now, there are a very few Englishmen who have the knowledge of the English players or the game as Wenger in reality.
At this point of time, the Three Lions are in a transitional phase with the existing star players approaching the crossroads of their careers. There is nobody better in world football to keep a team going through that phase competitive and overachieve with the resources, than Arsene. He has proved that for the last 10 years with his Arsenal squad full of youngsters.
There is plenty of talent in England and the players need to be guided in a right way in order to have them reach their potential. Arsene Wenger is the kind of manager who has always excelled in working with youngsters and the support which the manager gives to his players in time of adversity, prove to be the turning points of their footballing careers.
While previously he was criticised for not fielding English players in his starting XI, in recent years, Wenger has developed a core of British players at Arsenal and has also expressed that his vision of developing English talents for the national team.
In the last few years, Arsenal had a number of English players as a result in Kieran Gibbs, Theo Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Calum Chambers, Carl Jenkinson and recently Rob Holding. All of these players have been given ample support by Wenger to develop and perform despite not playing at the required level for many matches. Some of them are even sent on loan to get more game time and develop certain aspects of their game.
England has disappointed in the International competitions for a long time now. For the last 50 years, the supporters saw their team underperform. The pain was great because the players who dazzled with their clubs disappointed for their national team. The fans have become so frustrated that there now an acceptance the team will disappoint. Owing to the players’ performances, the position of the England manager has become one of the most scrutinised in world football.
In terms of dealing with the pressure of fans and media, Arsene Wenger excels once again. A man who has endured a lot of criticism despite getting things right at some point is no stranger to external pressure and has the wonderful virtue of remaining practically unaffected, concentrating on his own methods, and ultimately attaining success.
Finally and most importantly is the record of the manager speaks for itself with 15 trophies in 20 years and having a win percentage of 58, there is no one who can provide the perennially understated but eternally crucial combination of style mixed with ideology.
Arsene Wenger brings with him the unquestionable mark of ethics with his management all the while remaining hugely entertaining with his footballing philosophy on the pitch. After the fiasco regarding the actions of Sam Allardyce, it might well be the biggest thing needed to be established by the next England manager.
I personally think it is unlikely that Wenger would take the charge as the next England manager but there’s no denying the fact that he is the ideal candidate for the job. With Le Prof admitting that he knows the words to ‘God save the Queen’, there’s not much left to dispute either.
