Should Wenger be sacked?

Should Arsenal sack Wenger

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I thought it was difficult to envisage Wenger staying on beyond this year even before the season started but I think tonight has surely sealed his fate. The Champions League was probably the little hope many of those fans had left for their season and they've been pasted yet again by one of the big boys.

There was definitely a feel of this being the breaking point for many of the fans who were on the fence about Wenger and the club would be playing a very dangerous game if they choose to give him another extension on the back of this. It must be incredibly frustrating to watch your season pan out in exactly the same way every single year.
 
United's experiences over the last few years should serve as a stark warning to Arsenal about what can happen if they get a major transition like sacking Wenger wrong. If articles like this are to be believed then there are a lot of parallels between Wenger and Fergie's time in charge of United. You've got a manager who has been there forever and basically runs a lot of the club himself. You've got owners who are taking money from the club and you've got very little evidence of any kind of succession planning.

United are a much bigger and wealthier club and are still struggling to come back from the effects of getting it wrong 4 years ago. For Arsenal to bounce back from their own Moyesification is going to be even harder.
 
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They've surely got to part ways this year. The whole squad needs a revamp, and the mentality of the club needs to change. I can't see Wenger bringing that about himself, and think they'd be best served by changing the manger. Despite disliking Arsenal, I would rather see Wenger walk away than be sacked, but either way he's got to go.
 
The most damning thing is how little of the ball they have. If they had a ton of sterile possession and were just destroyed on the counter it would be slightly different. But, for an attacking team like Arsenal to ave so little of the ball is just pathetic.
 
If I were an arsenal supporter I'd refuse to put another penny into the club untill I'm certain that the club is on a new path, any path that doesn't have Wenger leading the way. He's got nothing new left in his quiver and his arrows are as sharp the ones with rubber suction cups on the front.
 
Wenger needs to go but unless Arsenal board is ready to back new manager in the market with top class acquisitions instead of spending money on decent players and hoping they make the step up then it would be be nothing more than a grand exercise in futility.
 
What's the point of Wenger leaving if the board don't raise their ambitions? All they care about is top 4, get that UCL money, make sure the stadium is filled and all is well for them. Let's not forget, Ozil was bought at the last minute, if the club had any ambitions, such key signing shouldn't have to wait til the last minute to complete. Wenger had to call him what on deadline day to convince him to join? So the board had the whole season to thumbs up each signing, and Wenger was only allowed to execute the effort to grab Ozil at deadline. Or Wenger couldn't make up his mind until the end on who he wants as his key signing of the season. Regardless, this shows the mess Arsenal as a whole had been in.

Honestly I feel bad for Wenger, the man has a vision of what he wants for his team, yet every time he is handicapped because the money above don't care for football one bit. In comparison to us? The moment we struggled under Moyes, he was given the boot and LVG was given money to spent. While we might have went over our heads thinking Neymar or Muller or CR7 would leave their own great clubs to join Red Devils without SAF, the club shown their ambitions, and willingness to spent.

Just yet another reason this club is the only one I'll ever support... I can't even imagine what being an Arsenal fan is like.
 
Billy Blaggs said:
He would be awesome at international level. No money just picking a team is exactly his Forte.
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I really don't think so. I think his best work is on the training pitch developing young players to play his style of cohesive quality football. His biggest weakness is motivation and without that day to day interaction to develop players or team play he would provide very little value.

As for the poll, I voted no. If Arsenal sack him (unless they hire an absolute dud) they will be a contender for titles again. For their own good, they should have sacked him years ago.
 
He'll have to much respect amongst Arsenal's decision makers to be sacked (rightly). He will have to do the honourable thing and not sign the new contract. Managing an international team should be his future.
 
POF said:
I really don't think so. I think his best work is on the training pitch developing young players to play his style of cohesive quality football. His biggest weakness is motivation and without that day to day interaction to develop players or team play he would provide very little value.

As for the poll, I voted no. If Arsenal sack him (unless they hire an absolute dud) they will be a contender for titles again. For their own good, they should have sacked him years ago.
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Your argument against is my argument for.
 
Arsenal fans should be careful what they wish for.
Qualifying for champions league is their seasons ceiling, Wenger always reached that, wait till he's gone, you will realise how good he is/was.
I foresee the team/club dipping in the way we did when Sir Alex retired.
Like I say , careful what you wish for.
 
He's going to win the FA Cup and save his bacon now, it's written in the stars.
 
Mal donaghy said:
Arsenal fans should be careful what they wish for.
Qualifying for champions league is their seasons ceiling, Wenger always reached that, wait till he's gone, you will realise how good he is/was.
I foresee the team/club dipping in the way we did when Sir Alex retired.
Like I say , careful what you wish for.
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Yeah, you could well be right, but a lot of it will depend on who they're able to get as his successor. (not that there's too many available candidates atm).

As long as they don't do a Moyes, and actually appoint a proven winner (like Simeone), I think they'll be alright.
 
Anyone else think Arsenal could drop out of the top four this season?

Everyone says the same thing that they always do enough, I just don't fancy them this season. Their more toothless than they've ever been and there doesn't seem that hunger anymore, in fact I'd say they look like a team of players who know their star men want out.
 
Mal donaghy said:
Arsenal fans should be careful what they wish for.
Qualifying for champions league is their seasons ceiling, Wenger always reached that, wait till he's gone, you will realise how good he is/was.
I foresee the team/club dipping in the way we did when Sir Alex retired.
Like I say , careful what you wish for.
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For the players they've had at their disposal over the years they should have been challenging for the title on a regular basis. Wengers insistence on his failed youngster experiment and Barca lite tactics is a major reason why they haven't won the league for so long. He's hugely underachieved there in my opinion.
 
I think what is damning isn't just the repeated exits, it's the manner. In 2011, they faced maybe one of the best teams in the world, were outclassed, but showed their quality, and it was a 1-goal margin at the end. In 2012 they collapsed at the San Siro but did decently at home, again a 1-goal margin. Next season they went out on away goals vs Bayern. A lot of these were covering up poor performances (though not always) and some of the scorelines were much closer than they should have been, but they did hang in there -- and they did compete in midfield (against superlative teams) for some of these games.

That is when this narrative stops. In 2014, they were comfortably beaten by Bayern and never threatened to beat them. Next year, it was by Monaco. Last year, they were thrashed home and away by Barca. This time, their first leg has already knocked them out. A regular feature has how they have been completely dismantled in midfield, which used to be their strength. Today, even potentially, where was the Wilshere-like performance going to come from in the insipid Coq-Xhaka midfield? That's a Europa League, technically poor midfield, contrary to what Arsenal used to do before that. It has helped Arsenal toughen up in the PL but at a higher level they are completely outclassed.
 
It's definitely more a case of when, not if.

I like Arsene, and have developed somewhat of a soft-spot for him.... I alway figured Arsenal shouldn't get rid of him, because (as we know) the grass isn't always greener... but yeah, after last nights result and performance, I don't think there is any way he can remain their manager.
 
I don't really understand why we keep trolling them when we're not even in Champions League and they're usually better than us since 4 years now.

I mean, I just love seeing them loosing but we've to be objective and we're not better than them.

As usual, they'll do a great run in PL in order to get to top 4 (and I'm sure they'll) and they'll be a threat in the FA Cup.
 
Chaky_Best said:
I don't really understand why we keep trolling them when we're not even in Champions League and they're usually better than us since 4 years now.

I mean, I just love seeing them loosing but we've to be objective and we're not better than them.

As usual, they'll do a great run in PL in order to get to top 4 (and I'm sure they'll) and they'll be a threat in the FA Cup.
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Whats your point. We shouldnt laugh at them just cause they're better? At least we're doing something to get back to the top. They're in the same state for 13 years now.
 
Ban said:
Whats your point. We shouldnt laugh at them just cause they're better? At least we're doing something to get back to the top. They're in the same state for 13 years now.
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Yeah exactly. We shouldn't be proud of their defeat because we've been horrible in Europe since Fergie left and we're not showing signs that proves we're not like them. They're usually better than us since 4 years, they trashed us 3-0 at the Emirates last year and we only drew at home this year. From what I know they're still in front of us in the league and can seals victory when we're only drawing games.

I mean that we can laugh at Pool that's normal, they're sh** since 20 years or so. We can also do it with Chelsea as they're not a real threat in Europe, but Arsenal are better than us these recent years, they finished above Paris in group stage (when we finished behind Feynenord) and I would have prefered playing Bayern yesterday than welcoming Sainté tonight. The same for last year when we lost pitifully at Wolfsburg and we finish 5th in the league when they finished above us, and the season before when we were not in European Football at all.

I think that their team is not good enough to make great things in Europe, but neither do we, or Chelsea or City or Spurs. English teams are weaker than 10 years ago in Europe, and our League is tougher than ever. I would say it's more due to a very bad transfer policy. When Bayern buys World Champions we buy Rojo...

But regarding Wenger, yes he's passed. His philosophy and style is gone. He's not the leader he was once, BUT he's still top four, and we don't. I don't say that next year I won't laugh at them because they'll play Europa League, but until we're not sportively better it's not humble to troll them
 
Mal donaghy said:
Arsenal fans should be careful what they wish for.
Qualifying for champions league is their seasons ceiling, Wenger always reached that, wait till he's gone, you will realise how good he is/was.
I foresee the team/club dipping in the way we did when Sir Alex retired.
Like I say , careful what you wish for.
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What's the point of that in and of itself? I'm pretty sure if I was an Arsenal fan I'd be willing to see the club take the risk of dumping Wenger and not qualify for the Champion's League than accept this 'qualify for the sake of qualifying' mentality.
 
Chaky_Best said:
Yeah exactly. We shouldn't be proud of their defeat because we've been horrible in Europe since Fergie left and we're not showing signs that proves we're not like them. They're usually better than us since 4 years, they trashed us 3-0 at the Emirates last year and we only drew at home this year. From what I know they're still in front of us in the league and can seals victory when we're only drawing games.

I mean that we can laugh at Pool that's normal, they're sh** since 20 years or so. We can also do it with Chelsea as they're not a real threat in Europe, but Arsenal are better than us these recent years, they finished above Paris in group stage (when we finished behind Feynenord) and I would have prefered playing Bayern yesterday than welcoming Sainté tonight. The same for last year when we lost pitifully at Wolfsburg and we finish 5th in the league when they finished above us, and the season before when we were not in European Football at all.

I think that their team is not good enough to make great things in Europe, but neither do we, or Chelsea or City or Spurs. English teams are weaker than 10 years ago in Europe, and our League is tougher than ever. I would say it's more due to a very bad transfer policy. When Bayern buys World Champions we buy Rojo...

But regarding Wenger, yes he's passed. His philosophy and style is gone. He's not the leader he was once, BUT he's still top four, and we don't. I don't say that next year I won't laugh at them because they'll play Europa League, but until we're not sportively better it's not humble to troll them
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We're not showing signs that we're not or wont be better? Not exactly true imo.
I will continue to laugh at them as I laugh at the misery of every rival despite our situation.
Also vad transfer policy? Saying that after a great trasfer window this summer is pretty strange. Dont forget to take a dig at Rojo,one of the better players this season.
 
Billy Blaggs said:
Your argument against is my argument for.
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But with international football you get 2-3 days preparation for games. No long pre-seasons, no time for player development. Wenger is a long term manager. A season's worth of development as a club manager would take 20 years in international football.

Motivation and instilling a winning mentality in a short period of time is the key in international football. Not his greatest strengths.
 
Is Wenger the single decision maker in terms of recruitment? I mean the management plays a key role in the current results.

sammsky1 said:
Arsene Wenger should never be sacked from Arsenal (ie have a contract forcefully terminated)

However, his rolling contract should not be renewed this summer and his board should find a magnanimous way of ushering him out of their club
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Fully agree with you. I have a great respect for his career. The man is very interesting when he doesn't speak about Arsenal (I'm not ironical).

The best end would be something like:

'Wenger and the club have decided together not to renew his contract. Wenger becomes a special ambassador of the club and will coach Japan'

fatboy said:
Have always defended Wenger, but maybe his time at Arsenal has run it's course. I still think he's a great manager, but I can also see why Arsenal fans want a change.

But those same fans have to realise that if they get rid of him, it'll be a tough job for the next manager, same as it was with us. Things could get worse. And there's lots of room to fall below where Arsenal is right now.
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Challenging but we are talking about the 7th richest club in Europe with some excellent players.


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The Purist said:
As an Arsenal fan who has said that Wenger is finished at this level, tonight was almost therapeutic. It felt like the beginning of the end.

I'm not sure what the next season will hold for us.. but I just hope there is a new manager. We are in desperate need for freshening up.
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One Night Only said:
It's going to be weird, a premier league without Fergie or Wenger :s
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The issue is not only the result but the global performance of the team.

As a neutral, change is the welcome. After all, any top coach deserves his chance at the highest level.

Football is an entertainment and any Arsenal fan should be bored to see History repeats itself.

Last season, the performances of PSG against a poor City made me realize the club would never move forward with Laurent Blanc not to mention other considerations.

Billy Blaggs said:
He would be awesome at international level. No money just picking a team is exactly his Forte.
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What he enjoys the most is the opportunity to work everyday with young lads and develop them. You can't do that as a NT coach.
 
Billy Blaggs said:
I think that is his greatest strength. He's been found that he can't keep a team. But he's a tactical Manager.
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He really isn't. Managers who are good tactically usually have excellent records in big games. Mourinho and Benitez are good examples. Wenger rarely amends his tactics or style to cater for the opposition and regularly gets stuffed in big games.
 
Head says no, heart says Eboue. Followed my heart and voted Eboue.
 
To play devil's advocate somewhat, given the amount they spend, whether in fees or, probably more importantly, wages - whether they actually have more money available than they spend is another day's work - and their pull relative to the other big clubs in the country, somewhere between 2nd-4th most seasons is about right, isn't it? I mean, they play good football, they have a couple of players who, by most definitions are world class, or on the borderline and they generally are reasonably competitive in the competitions they actually compete for, CL aside.

Obviously I'm aware that's not the full picture, but I just wonder if a new manager would make that much difference to their bottom line. Particularly when most of the high profile managers you'd usually link with these jobs are already working in England. Yeah, a new man would probably solve some of the issues that plague Wenger. But, I have no doubts others would pop up, whack-a-mole style. Without massive investment (I think they could do with a really top centre half, a LB, a defensive minded midfielder and a new striker, without even mentioning the need to strap Walcott to a rocket and fire the useless twat into the sun) it'd likely be more of the same, or perhaps a slightly different version of the same old. Maybe they would mount a genuine challenge, even if they ultimately fell short. Maybe that'd be enough to satisfy the supportes. But even with massive investment, there would be no guarantees. Only one team can win the league each season. Logically, I'm not sure there are that many reasons to think it'd be Arsenal, unless there were big changes at that club.

I'm not suggesting that they should necessarily keep Wenger (it probably is time for him to go, if only to freshen up the club) but it's really difficult to win the PL/CL. Arsenal could easily hire Tuchel, Allegri or some other highly regarded manager only to find he spends their money and leads them to the same general position they've been in for years.
 
Whatever happened to the annual;
'(Insert name of manager) must stay!' campaigns? It can't just be reserved for Scouse and City managers.

I want him to stay just to see the PL big mouths have their annual meltdown
 
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