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It is time to say goodbye to Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has departed Arsenal. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Roar Pro
27th February, 2017
2

​This article is dedicated to a topic on which I assume every football writer has given his opinion.

A few were biased and had their agendas while a few were hitting the core points. But do you ever wonder why does Arsenal invite such discussions every season?

The reason is that each and every season is the same at Arsenal Football Club, leading to questions about the place of Arsene Wenger.

Witnessing another season of failed title challenges and an embarrassing exit in the Champions League (no prizes for guessing the round) has woken up a lot of fans finally. In recent years clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and even Leicester City have done what Arsenal couldn’t.

Leicester City English Premier League trophy 2016

That surprisingly didn’t put pressure on Arsene Wenger but things are changing now.

It will definitely be foolish to say that the Frenchman is behind all the problems at Arsenal but as of now he appears to be the man in total control of this club.

Yes the owners care about making the club richer and don’t necessarily want trophies for that etc is fine, but Arsenal are no longer a club who has to sell its best players to achieve its targets. Arsene Wenger has spent close to 100 million pounds this summer and results appear to be the same.

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My biggest frustration or concern with the club is setting low targets. Aiming for top four in the league every season and knockout stages in UCL is a habit.

Most assume its all the owner’s fault and Arsene is doing a great job but can’t win because of people behind the scenes.

Arsene Wenger is again under pressure to deliver.

When Wenger has so much power at the club (everyone knows that) then how come he is happy to be a part of such a club where the owners do not care about trophies and have other objectives?

A manager who wants to win will definitely not want to be a part of such a mess.

Now we come to the point that players like Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny, Hector Bellerin want Arsene Wenger to stay.

Well, the media and even fans know that the club is run by the manager here and almost every decision is taken by him.

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Players know there will be a massive structural change at the club if he goes and future will definitely be uncertain.

The players know about the club much more than fans and media on this topic. They see every year is the same story and not once the manager comes under pressure from the owners.

What message do they get from this? Few players have it too safe under Wenger in-charge and constantly get away from poor performances as well.

Another top point of Arsene Wenger backers was the squad he is going to leave behind when he retires. Let’s not talk about the future but discuss the present.

The prime years of big players at Arsenal – Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Petr Cech – have failed to lead to a league title or even a strong title challenge.

Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’ contract runs down in the summer of 2018 and it doesn’t look positive right now. So hope of Wenger leaving behind a fantastic squad for next manager is gone in my view.

Mesut Ozil Arsenal

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We all love the attacking nature of Arsenal, but football has changed massively and failing to adapt is the biggest crime in this world.

It is not shocking that a new contract is on the table for Wenger because planning at Arsenal is abysmal.

Since he is in complete control of the club, the board members will have to appoint more than one person to replace him.

A manager and football director (maybe more) becomes a must and this involves a sincere planning effort which is not seen at Arsenal right now.

Massimiliano Allegri has been linked recently with Arsenal and he can be a good appointment if Arsene Wenger decides to step down.

Others who are constantly linked are Thomas Tuchel of Dortmund, Roger Schmidt of Leverkusen and Eddie Howe of Bournemouth.

Diego Simeone is also regularly linked and is one of my favourite managers but I don’t see him at Emirates because I don’t think he will be happy to work in an environment where targets are not as high as they should be. But a dreamer can dream.

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Arsenal right now are in a mess, which will definitely not be solved by Wenger. Even if he decides to step down it will take some doing for the next man in charge to make us title contenders again.

Change is necessary. The club are just delaying the inevitable and it’s better to act now. Winning isn’t everything but not competing is unacceptable.

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