Arsenal’s mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich pretty much seemed like the final nail in the coffin of Arsene Wenger’s stint at the North-London club. The familiar performance at the big stage and players lacking ‘mental strength’ has once again put Arsenal on the verge of getting ousted from the greatest competition at club level.
However, unlike other times, the ‘Wenger Out’ brigade has got a surprising support from several pundits and intellectuals of English football, who are of the joint opinion that the 67-year-old has lost his plot with his tactics no more working in today’s football.
A lackluster and directionless display by Arsenal also hinted to the fact that the manager’s words are no more reaching the players and they aren’t willing to fight for him anymore. A fall out between them is unexpected, though, as had taken place between Jose Mourinho and Chelsea players, but players unwilling to keep trust in the manager’s vision is a huge crisis. Every development is snowballing into one direction, the ending of an era. Although Wenger has clarified that he wishes to continue his managerial role whether at Arsenal or anywhere else, the latter looks more likely to happen.
Rumours have also emerged that the club authorities are preparing a list of possible candidates to take charge of Arsenal next season and Rafael Benitez and Massimiliano Allegri tops it. Now, demanding Wenger to leave is easy but getting a successor is a tricky thing. We don’t want to have another David Moyes at the club and bring instability. The one thing that Arsenal have since the last decade is their stability as one of Europe’s top clubs. While both Benitez and Allegri are brilliant options to keep at the helm, it is important to recognize their approaches.
Benitez has a knack for winning at the European stages, something Arsenal have been kept away from so long, he will definitely be the popular option. He won Champions League with Liverpool in 2004, Europa League with Chelsea in 2012 and UEFA Cup with Valencia win in 2003. However, his constant disagreement with the board over transfer issues cannot be unnoticed. It is his disputatious nature that led him to be removed from Liverpool, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid before he decided to join Newcastle. In the 828 matches played so far, Benitez has won 450 and lost 194.
Arsenal’s board, who are not habitual to spending astronomical fees in transfer windows, is most likely to develop a rift with the Spaniard sooner rather than later and the club will find themselves managerless again. Benitez is definitely not the option for Arsenal according to us.
In Allegri, Arsenal have a similar kind of nurturer as Wenger. The Italian, although yet to win any European tournament, is responsible for bringing up star players during his stint at Milan like Stephan El Shaarawy, Mattia De Sciglio and later on Mario Balotelli apart from big transfers. He has won everything in Italy with Milan and Juventus and his tactics were hugely applauded as Juventus defeated Real Madrid in the 2015 Champions League semis although they lost to Barcelona in the finals. In the 440 matches, he has managed so far, Allegri has won 239 and lost 104.
Both shrewd tacticians and advocates of the 4-2-3-1 setup, Arsenal’s squad wouldn’t need any major overhaul under them. Although Benitez has been in the business for long and won more trophies, we would like to go with the Italian for the Arsenal job given his forte for a patient build up gameplays, gaining a territorial advantage.
However, it should be reminded that both aren’t very keen on staying at a club for long and sustaining will definitely be a concern for Arsenal whoever they decide to appoint.
