Should Wenger be sacked?

Should Arsenal sack Wenger


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I think there's some truth in this. I also think they have an enduring respect from when Arsenal and Wenger were great so won't give both barrels.

I don't know how snakelike any of that is though, they're hardly gaining anything personally.
I don't know. It is true that after being arch rivals for many years you tend to respect a person. On the other hand, it sounds like they are taking the piss by defending a stubborn and outdated manager.
 
Ferdinand and Neville are snakes. They defend Wenger just because they know Arsenal are not dangerous with him in charge.


So basically, exactly what non-United pundits were doing regarding Moyes and LVG. They knew that neither manager would do a single thing with United so were desperate for us to keep them. It's very telling for Arsenal fans that United pundits want him to stay. The man simply has to go, if you're an Arsenal fan.
 
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Charlie Nicholas is a prat, few weeks ago "Arsenal will beat Bayern" "Arsenal have one of the strongest squad in Europe"

Today Id sell at least 10 of that squad, theyre not good enough. Doughnut
 
Charlie Nicholas is a prat, few weeks ago "Arsenal will beat Bayern" "Arsenal have one of the strongest squad in Europe"

Today Id sell at least 10 of that squad, theyre not good enough. Doughnut

That type of wild inconsistency is ridiculous, but we see this sort of thing with every team. After a good result for us you hear 'we're almost ready to challenge, one or two quality additions and we can compete on all fronts next season' then we draw against Bournemouth/Hull/Burnley and it's all reined back in.

The thing with Arsenal is that the season they've had has happened time after time after time. For the best part of a decade they have bowed out at the last 16 of the CL, often in embarrassing circumstances to the very teams their fans were told they would be competing with once they were settled at the Emirates, and they haven't seriously challenged for the title since they won it in 2004.

It is surely high time for change. Arsenal need a new ethos at the top of the club from the board and owners through to management and coaching. Standing still for more than a decade is unforgivable.
 
Charlie Nicholas is a prat, few weeks ago "Arsenal will beat Bayern" "Arsenal have one of the strongest squad in Europe"

Today Id sell at least 10 of that squad, theyre not good enough. Doughnut

I agree, but thats football isnt it?

100% result based opinions.
 
I reckon he should leave, at least he'd do so with some dignity in tact if he volunteered to go. Arsenal should, however, learn from our mistakes when Fergie retired.
 
Just reading Wenger having an absolute hissy fit about the referee last night?

Am I missing something or was that not a stonewall penalty and red card?
 
I have a theory on that defense. I feel like a winning mentality can be passed down from veteran teammates to younger ones if they play together a few years. That Invincible Wenger defense still played with Keown, Seaman, Adams and Dixon for a year or two mostly. Sol Campbell also already had a different mentality. So that Invincible defense still had mentality qualities none of his defenses since have had. In hindsight, Wenger and the board ushered in the Emirates youth project era a little too soon and shipped out too many of the Invincibles too quickly for them to pass on that winning mentality. It was a case of not establishing a smooth enough transition and the club has been recovering in some aspect or another since then.

That defense evolved though. Expertly I may say, but it never changed dramatically. Once he lost more than one player at a time he lost it for good. Bold denotes new player;

1998 - Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Winterburn
2000 - Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Cole
2002 - Seaman, Lauren, Keown, Adams, Cole
2003 - Seaman, Lauren, Keown, Campbell, Cole (Toure/Keown shared a spot)
2004 - Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole

After that...

2005 - Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole (Cygan & Senderos both played 12 & 15 league matches mind)
2006 - Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Flamini (Cole injured, Cygan played plenty)
2007 - Lehmann, Djorou, Gallas, Senderos, Clichy

In 2 seasons he took a defence that had evolved one player at a time for over a decade and was left with a shower of shit. Gallas was 100% great but everything else there, including a 40 year old Lehmann was dogshit.

That said, as I've said plenty elsewhere, Wenger is a genius and a top manager. He just isn't going to go down as one of the greats that had longevity at the top.

Totally agree with both of you. He dismantled the 2003-04 team too quickly, and he's failed to develop a squad with a smilar mentality ever since.
 
Ferdinand and Neville are snakes. They defend Wenger just because they know Arsenal are not dangerous with him in charge.
Neville defended Moyes and wanted him to have more time. He's not a snake he just thinks managers should never be sacked no matter how badly they do
 
Arsenal fans need to take a long look at us to see what happens when you lose a long term manager. I think it will be a complete disaster so I'm all for a sacking.
 
Wenger complained about a penalty on walcott in the first half, lewa being offside, kos foul not being a foul, and red card being wrong. I only saw kos foul, and it was a foul and red card, so the ref got that right actually. What about the rest?

This is the "penalty claim" Arsenal are complaining about.

 
Arsenal fans need to take a long look at us to see what happens when you lose a long term manager. I think it will be a complete disaster so I'm all for a sacking.

It may very well be a complete disaster. But then isn't it already?

The fans want to challenge for titles/cups. If the board has the same ambition then Wenger hasn't been good enough for far too many years now and needs to be replaced. That replacement potentially being worse is a risk you always take, but when the status quo isn't good enough then changes are simply what's needed.
 
3 league titles and 6 FA Cups in 21 years that's not actually a great return.

Even Graham managed to win in 7 years

2 League titles
2 league cups
1 FA Cup
1 UEFA Cup Winners Cup

I've not counted The Charity Shield as that's not a major honour
Yes he changed how they played football, how Arsenal were perceived, but they are the 3rd biggest club in the country (in terms of honours) he should've won more but for some strange reason he didn't. He lost the Monaco job because he wanted to continue to play youth players that weren't good enough that was what was happening at Arsenal. Now he's even given up on that but the players he has bought aside for Sanchez and Ozil haven't been top drawer.
 
Looks like Alonso got the ball.
Mmmm, i'd say it's 50/50 from that video. Gets the ball first and seems to kick it away from theo's possession, but i'm not sure Theo couldn't still have got to it...

Definitely not something worthy of complaining, especially when you're 5-2 down.
 
Arsenal fans need to take a long look at us to see what happens when you lose a long term manager. I think it will be a complete disaster so I'm all for a sacking.
I disagree. Arsenal are desperate for a new manager.

The longer Wenger stays, the better for us all (apart from Gooners of course!)
 
The difference between our situation and Arsenal's situation, for me, is this: We were in search of a continuation of what we had been doing up until that point whereas Arsenal need basically the opposite. So when we got Moyes we wanted the longevity and consistent success Sir Alex gave us, but Arsenal need a shake up and I think that is a much easier task than what we needed to do. For me, they should go all out for Simeone because he's so different to Arsene. I doubt any player at Arsenal fears Wenger, they play neat attacking football and have zero aggression. They can't defend very well and they're one dimensional tactically. Simeone is almost the polar opposite. He's intimidating, ruthless, aggressive and can drill a team defensively. Arsenal are stale right now and he can shake things up.

If they looked for a continuation of what they've been doing up until now then they'd probably employ someone like Eddie Howe, and that'd be a disaster.
 
Arsenal are a stagnant football club. They need a change and to freshen thing up, but that probably extends to board level too, as all they want is to finish top four and fill their pockets with money. Just maintaining the status quo of top four is all they'll ever care about.

So sacking Wenger is the right thing to do. Even if each season seems a carbon copy of the last, they are gradually going downhill. Just the decline is slow. I highly doubt they would have a repeat of our crisis post-SAF as the circumstances of both clubs were hugely different, what with us being champions.

I hope he stays as long as possible, as my worry is they'll become relevant again under a new manager. Then again they could just appoint some underwhelming yes man like Wenger so who knows. They aren't spoilt for managerial options.
 
want to repost what @oneniltothearsenal said.

an excellent summation.

There are some things that can and should be blamed on the board. I'll save those for later and just list the festering issues that are strictly Wenger's domain.

1. Mismanagement of injuries. Literally been a problem going on 15 years. For well over a decade we were either 1st or 2nd in injury table with no changes at all until last year when we appointed Shad Forsythe. Just last month Wenger plays Ramsey who had niggling injury and Ramsey gets injured. This falls on Wenger as there is a chronic mismanagement of injury issue with Wenger consistently bringing back players too soon.

2. Outdated Socialist Wage Structure. The biggest single issue holding back Arsenal from achieving economic efficiency at our current level of investment is the outdated wage structure which systematically over pays mediocre squad dross and underpays our best players for over a decade. From Squillaci to Chamakh to a number of our current "British core" squad players have consistently earned more per week at Arsenal than they would on the open market.

3. Charity Contracts. Connected to the above problem is that in the last 8-9 Wenger has lost his ruthlessness and gives out the most baffling charity contracts to his favored players even if they are not contributing on the pitch. Diaby he kept faith in 4 full years past a logical sell-by date. He extended Arteta 1-2 years after Arteta's legs had completely gone. This problem is also not changing. This year Wenger extended Per Mertesacker's contract who hasn't played yet the whole season. Even extending Santi Cazorla this year was madness. Sure he has been great and important but for two seasons in a row he can only stay healthy for 2-3 months at best! At his age, that is not someone who should be given a 100K a week contract extension. Its just piss poor economic efficiency.

4. Favoritism and wasting players. Some of Wenger's favored players seem to have permanent spots in the starting XI. And his unfavored players he leaves to rot on the bench. Joel Campbell is a perfect example. Wenger clearly didn't rate him for years. So why keep him just to rot on the bench? Makes no sense. After Campbell's good WC we could have sold him for 12M or so that summer. But Wenger kept him, almost never played him, now he loans him out and Campbell has lost all value on the market. Perez is another example. Looks good the few chances he gets, better than most of our players this year yet doesn't get a chance.

So those are a few clearly problematic areas that Wenger has let fester. Wenger is far too stubborn to change. He is too attached to wanting to prove all the critics wrong. So for those issues to change (and there are still more) we simply need a new manager with fresh ideas and a fresh perspective.

That's all seems very familiar to what we've gone through since the last years of Fergie's reign.
 
Mourinho went to Chelsea in 2004 and won the league 2005 and 2006.

Wenger in 2005 - building the team

Ferguson won the league 2007, 2008, 2009

Wenger in 2007, 2008, 2009... still building the team

Ancelloti came to Chelsea in 2009 and won the league in 2010.

Wenger in 2010... still building the team

Roberto Mancini came to Man city in 2010and won the league in 2012.

Wenger in 2012... still building the team

Pellegrini came to Man city in 2013 and won the league in 2014.

Wenger in 2014... still building the team

Mourinho came back to Chelsea in 2013 and won the league in 2015.

Wenger in 2015... still building the team

Claudio Ranieri came to Leicester city in 2015 and won the league in 2016

Wenger in 2016... still building the team

Antonio Conte came to Chelsea in 2016 and already taking the EPL by storm until 2017.

Wenger in 2017... still building the team
 
It's gonna be one hell of a team when he does finish building it, that's for sure.
 
Mourinho went to Chelsea in 2004 and won the league 2005 and 2006.

Wenger in 2005 - building the team

Ferguson won the league 2007, 2008, 2009

Wenger in 2007, 2008, 2009... still building the team

Ancelloti came to Chelsea in 2009 and won the league in 2010.

Wenger in 2010... still building the team

Roberto Mancini came to Man city in 2010and won the league in 2012.

Wenger in 2012... still building the team

Pellegrini came to Man city in 2013 and won the league in 2014.

Wenger in 2014... still building the team

Mourinho came back to Chelsea in 2013 and won the league in 2015.

Wenger in 2015... still building the team

Claudio Ranieri came to Leicester city in 2015 and won the league in 2016

Wenger in 2016... still building the team

Antonio Conte came to Chelsea in 2016 and already taking the EPL by storm until 2017.

Wenger in 2017... still building the team

That's why I do not want to see Wenger sacked. You know what would be better, if we can clone him and put him in charge of Chelsea and City as well.
 
I think he should leave at the end of the season, but he should never be sacked.
 
I do agree. He deserves some respect, albeit he has lost the plot.

Let me play a bit of devil's advocate :devil:

He does deserve respect, but.... If he has lost the dressing room and staying till the end of season results in:

a) Arsenal dropping out of top 4
b) Sanchez leaving

...would that have been a good choice from a business sense by the board to keep him? If they've made their mind up to replace him, would it not be better to sack him now? Look at Leicester. In my mind, they were 100% going down before Ranieri left. The players got motivated to play again.

Though to be fair, convincing Sanchez to stay might be impossible regardless of the manager that comes in.
 
a) Arsenal dropping out of top 4
b) Sanchez leaving
Who can they get mid season that will guarantee them top 4, as well as convince Sanchez to stay? The manager with the best record at achieving a top 4 finish is already managing them, and Sanchez will stay or leave regardless of who's in charge.
 
I think he should leave at the end of the season, but he should never be sacked.
On what basis? What top flight boss carries on getting £8 million a year salary while consistently failing?

The point is that the club is run by people who know nothing about football and Wenger has cleverly manipulated their trust and ignorance over the last few years.

He has managed to convince all of them that UCL qualification is the measure of Arsenal's success when with their revenue stream, history and stature among clubs they should be up there trying to win it
 
Let me play a bit of devil's advocate :devil:

He does deserve respect, but.... If he has lost the dressing room and staying till the end of season results in:

a) Arsenal dropping out of top 4
b) Sanchez leaving

...would that have been a good choice from a business sense by the board to keep him? If they've made their mind up to replace him, would it not be better to sack him now? Look at Leicester. In my mind, they were 100% going down before Ranieri left. The players got motivated to play again.

Though to be fair, convincing Sanchez to stay might be impossible regardless of the manager that comes in.
No, absolutely not. What i meant is that i hope he leaves with some dignity.
 
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Mourinho went to Chelsea in 2004 and won the league 2005 and 2006.

Wenger in 2005 - building the team

Ferguson won the league 2007, 2008, 2009

Wenger in 2007, 2008, 2009... still building the team

Ancelloti came to Chelsea in 2009 and won the league in 2010.

Wenger in 2010... still building the team

Roberto Mancini came to Man city in 2010and won the league in 2012.

Wenger in 2012... still building the team

Pellegrini came to Man city in 2013 and won the league in 2014.

Wenger in 2014... still building the team

Mourinho came back to Chelsea in 2013 and won the league in 2015.

Wenger in 2015... still building the team

Claudio Ranieri came to Leicester city in 2015 and won the league in 2016

Wenger in 2016... still building the team

Antonio Conte came to Chelsea in 2016 and already taking the EPL by storm until 2017.

Wenger in 2017... still building the team

Funny post.
And I will add: may he continue to keep building the team for the next 10 years. I only wish that CFC and MCFC would also build a team.
 
I agree that he does deserve respect but what if the only way to convince him to leave or convince the board not to offer him another contract is to go full force on the protests, banners, and similar actions?

It's a hypothetical but I wonder how many Arsenal fans would be ok with all that then.
 
On what basis? What top flight boss carries on getting £8 million a year salary while consistently failing?
He's only failed judging by fans' expectations. In the view of the board, he's been a massive success. A lot of his on-pitch failures are the result of a wage structure that can't compete with three other clubs, the same three clubs which have won the league every year since Arsenal last won it (Leicester aside).