Wenger alone should decide when to callll time
It’s time for Arsene Wenger to go. That’s the view of what seems to be the majority of his side’s supporters right now. But fans of Arsenal, if not Arsene, might want to be careful what they wish for.
The grass is not always greener, as Manchester United fans will tell you. Making the right appointment after a longserving manager is no easy feat. At Old Trafford, they are already on their third manager since Sir Alex Ferguson called time on his 26- year reign just three seasons ago.
Ferguson left a squad that were champions in the hands of his hand- picked successor, and within seven months of David Moyes overseeing his first game in charge, he had been sacked. He was followed by Louis van Gaal, who managed to blow all the goodwill he had on account of not being Moyes by virtue of being Louis van Gaal. The Dutchman was in turn sacked, despite winning the FA Cup last season.
United fans are happy with current manager Jose Mourinho, even though they are no closer to challenging for the title since Ferguson left and not guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League. Many of those fans wonder why Mourinho was not the man to immediately take over from Ferguson given that he was available and, by all accounts, desperate for the job.
It’s all too easy to make the wrong decision in hiring a new manager and very difficult to put it right. Wenger’s departure, whenever it happens, will be the end of an era for Arsenal and it needs to be handled very carefully. What would they even expect from a new manager?
The fans calling for Wenger’s head point out that the club have not won the Premier League for 13 years and they don’t challenge in the Champions League. Wenger is the man they can thank for being in a position where they see that as not good enough and for all their moaning, this season will only be the second since they won a major trophy.
Who do they think can come in and do a better job? Diego Simeone and Thomas Tuchel are among the names mentioned but both – and everyone else – would be a gamble from a board that took their last gamble two decades ago when they appointed a relatively unknown Frenchman from the Japanese J- League. Whatever Wenger’s faults as a manager, the board have long been happy with him and his players, if Olivier Giroud is to be believed, want Wenger to sign the new deal that is on the table.
Whether he stays or goes should be down to Wenger alone. He will need to leave at some point and Arsenal need as much time as they can to plan to appoint a successor to a man that history will see as their greatest manager.