Times Are Leaving Arsene Wenger (And Arsenal) Behind
It doesn’t take long for the #WengerOut sentiment to come out year and year out, but perhaps the board and the manager should listen
Death, taxes and Arsenal finishing above Tottenham Hotspur. For most of my adult life those were the universal truths as much as putting your hot hand on a hot stove. Despite their club toiling in and out of relative irrelevance when it comes to the EPL title contention, there was one day that was celebrated as joyfully as Christmas and was a de facto club birthday — St. Totterinham’s Day: the day Arsenal makes it mathematically impossible for Tottenham to pass them in the standing. In 2017, that day never came, and after this weekend’s loss to Stoke City it looks like it may be a while until we celebrate it again.
Arsene Wenger’s list of achievements looks like the kind of resume you get and toss out every other the moment it is in your hands. Three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups, five Community Shields and countless Fourth Place trophy’s (ask an Arsenal fan if you have an hour or five). If you were to melt down all the silverware, including medals, there’d be enough to build a life sized statue outside the Emirates Stadium. Lifelike and forever struggling with the zipper on his raincoat. He lead Arsenal to an unprecedented undefeated season, fostered some of the most talented players of the generations and changed the philosophy of English football at a time where brute force was all that matters. But both European success and recent success have eluded Le Proffeseur for the past half a decade. What’s worse, he is now chasing a shadow.
Wenger is the last of his breed, spending most of his managerial career in London while many prefer to jump ship, be it by personal choice or external pressure from the board. For a full decade, Arsene and Sir Alex Ferguson were the constants in the face of tumulus change in the EPL. Ferguson retired after 27 seasons, Wenger is going on 21. There is no manager in Europe that can even claim double digits with the team. Sure, successful managers like Pep and Mourinho have a lot of time under their belt, but their journeyman approach from top club to top club is different from consummate dedication of two of the greatest managers in the EPL, except that dedication is now also a weakness.
A couple of weeks ago I posed a dilemma that the EPL might be passing Mourinho by. His stubbornness of a drunken uncle at a cookout unwilling to change his views was his Achilles heel last season, but it turns out the right players fix the right problems.
With both Pep and Mourinho hitting snags last season, both managers went out and hit the bank, one buying every conceivable full back available and the other buying round pegs going into round holes, complementing his blueprint. Both teams look on the rise, while Arsene looks lost, again.
In the past, there was a benefit to correct scouting and getting in on an asset before the the word was out. Henry, Viera and others came to Arsenal young, with others still very unaware of their potential. On the flip, Kylian Mbappe is about to go for a price of a small nation. Scouting isn’t the competitive advantage anymore, having money is (just ask PSG).
Don’t make me discount the advantage of having a shrewd tactician on the sideline, but sometimes having the right personnel for your tactic can make Sam “Just Heave It” Alladyce look like Sun Tzu of football. The formula can be as simple as “get a big man up front and pepper crosses” or it can be “pass it into the net at all costs” you still need the right players to make it happen, and that’s where Arsenal is failing.
Despite the influx of cash from the new Emirates stadium and the increase in revenue for EPL as a whole, Arsenal remains on the bottom when it comes to competitive spending against their peers in the EPL. Foreign investments surely added another jolt to this race as international buyers will go above and beyond to make sure their clubs succeed. Arsenal refused to budge.
In the past, it was easy, Arsene identified the people he wanted to go after and then David Dein went out and got them. The marketplace was still competitive but it was also a shadow market. Arsene was able to get young talent and shape them to play the Arsenal way. The problem is, he wrote the book and now everyone has read it, everyone is getting young talent (again, look at Mbappe). The sad truth is, you have to spend to get the best players to fit your system. With Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, Arsene came close, but he never followed up these purchases to surround them with the right talent.
There is still too much reliance on the likes of Danny Welbeck or Granit Xhaka or Francis Coquelin to hold up the club. While good players, they are still a tier or two below the top level competition they will face at United and City. The Arsenal Invincibles was a collection of top level talent, an All-Star team if you will, the current Arsenal Squad still sports players not good enough to break their national teams. They can fit the system, but they also drag it down.
Arsene’s insistence to do football the right way has been a hindering influence on Arsenal growth for the past five years. I respect the principle of trying to build something beautiful, but why skimp on material. The world has changed, players have little loyalty to teams and so do managers, in this world, it is worth building a great team for 3 years rather than trying to grow a mediocre one into just a good one over 7, especially with players looking to leave every three. Arsene’s insistence to do things his way has pushed the club further down and made it harder for them to compete, not just at home but on the transfer market to obtain and retain the world class talent they so desperately need to get back into contention.
Also, PLEASE SIGN A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER!
