Defeat against Blackburn in the FA Cup all but confirmed that Arsenal would go without a trophy for the eighth year in succession. This was a crushing cup upset for the Gunners who followed that with a comprehensive home defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Naturally all focus has been placed firmly on manager Arsene Wenger this week. There are plenty of voices calling for the Arsenal board to act and remove him from his position. That is something that should absolutely not happen.
Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal in 1996 as a relative unknown. Under his management the Gunners have won 3 Premier League Titles and 4 FA Cups. They have never failed to qualify for the Champions League under his stewardship and he has personally overseen the transition from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium. The club are financially sound, free from debt and consistently gathering the finances that the Champions League knockout phases bring to the club. All of this is thanks in no small part to the management of Arsene Wenger.
Despite all this success and good work, the fact remains that eight years without a trophy is wholly unacceptable for Arsenal and as much credit as the Frenchman deserves for his successes, he also must take the blame for their lack of silverware. Over the last few years Arsenal have allowed themselves to lose their star names season after season. Initially Arsenal lost their talisman Patrick Vieira and the big names have followed out the exit door. Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Alex Song and most latterly Robin van Persie have all left the Gunners in recent years, and this has left them well off the pace in the Premier League. While there are a number of factors behind these departures, Wenger is not without blame and has to accept this.
The team in recent years has lacked in so many areas that everybody who knows a bit about football can see. However Arsene Wenger seems to be the one person who can’t see it. The defence is fundamentally weak and has been for some time. Wenger has consistently refused to strengthen this area with real funds, despite openly admitting that the money is there for him to spend if he so desires. Similarly, a holding midfielder has been missing from the Arsenal team. But again, Wenger has not done anything to change this, instead placing huge faith in his youngsters and consistent underachievers who, ultimately, have never cut it. This failure to bring in quality when the money is there to use is squarely the fault of the manager and he cannot hide away from this fact. Along with a number of reasons, the underachievement of the players Wenger has brought in has contributed to so many losing faith in the once untouchable Frenchman.
The board seem to be right behind Wenger and rightly so. I happen to think that there is a place for sentimentality in football and Arsene Wenger deserves the utmost respect for his job at Arsenal over the last 16 years. It is for this reason that I argue Wenger must walk away, for his own reputation and dignity.
To see Arsene Wenger thrown out by Arsenal would be a dreadful experience. He needs to leave Arsenal under his own steam, needs to accept that he must move away from the club for the sake of the empire he built. His leadership has gone on too long now and Wenger has to see that. So long without success indicates without doubt that a change is needed in management and it is for the best if Arsene Wenger makes that decision himself. He must jump, not be pushed.
