BOTCHED Wenger succession has left a TAINTED LEGACY
Arsenal paying price for bitter exit as Arteta tries to pick up the pieces
ARSENAL need to prepare for the long haul in their bid to restore former glories and are paying the price for mishandling Arsene Wenger’s departure in 2018. That’s the verdict of former executives at the club, colleagues and friends of Wenger, who say that Arsenal’s current difficulties stem from the decision to end the legendary manager’s time at the club and the failure to include him in succession planning.
A series of interviews conducted by The Mail on Sunday with those who worked closely with Wenger and observed his departure firsthand, give a clearer picture of the deep hurt felt by Wenger at his exit. Some say that he felt so badly let down that he will never go back, even to watch a game, under the current owners, though others believe he will eventually return as a guest and it is revealed that the club are attempting to persuade him to come back for a tribute they are planning.
All the interviewees spoken to say the club should have made use of his knowledge by bringing him on to the board of directors and the majority felt that his departure was handled badly. All have a deep knowledge of Arsenal and are fearful as to how long it will take the club, who face Tottenham today, to recover from the shock of losing Wenger. They all believe patience will now be required to rebuild despite Mikel Arteta’s extraordinary start to his managerial career, which saw him win the FA Cup and the Community Shield.
The club could lose £158 million this season, according to figures calculated by the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, a sum thought to be broadly in line with club estimates. And though all clubs are suffering financially due to the pandemic, it will be difficult for Arteta to rebuild unless owner Stan Kroenke continues to release funds.
Although Wenger himself and executives all acknowledged that there needed to be a period of time after his exit when the Frenchman distanced himself from the club, initially to allow his successor Unai Emery space to establish himself, many assumed that he would come back into the fold. An Arsenal employee, who worked closely with Wenger said: ‘He’ll never go back. That’s how badly let down he feels he was by the board.’
Another former colleague of the manager said: ‘Contrary to what people may think, it didn’t end well.
And he didn’t feel it ended well. He felt he deserved better.’
The Mail on Sunday understands that club executives, including chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, visited Wenger recently to reiterate that there is an open invitation to come back as a guest of the club.It
is clear executives are aware that the breach needs to be repaired between the club and a manager who, alongside the great Herbert Chapman, is arguably the most-revered employee in the club’s history.
‘We want to make sure that someone who is such an integral part of our history is honoured in the right way,’ said one club source.
Dick Law, Wenger’s transfer negotiator from 2009 until 2018, said: ‘My feeling is that the ownership and management at the time missed a real opportunity to craft a positive outcome as opposed to a negative outcome.
‘I think an opportunity was missed in May of 2018 and I think the club is still suffering the effects of that. Knowing him like I know him and knowing the level of commitment he had made through the years, he had a vision for the club that was cut short and that pained him.’
Another former colleague, who still speaks with Wenger, said: ‘I don’t think he’d say he’d never go back. He’s not like that. He probably feels it’s still a bit raw because he feels the club could have treated him better.’
The full extent of tension behind the scenes in Wenger’s final two seasons has also been revealed. The nadir was when a fan hired a plane to fly over Stoke’s Bet365 Stadium in May 2017, reading: ‘Wenger – Out means out.’ It hit Wenger hard.
‘What happened at Stoke, he still has nightmares about that with the plane going overhead with Wenger Out,’ said the source. ‘That hurt.’
The relationship with the English members of the board was already fracturing. Wenger’s staff perceived that he had lost the support of then chairman, Sir Chips Keswick. Their relationship at the time is variously described as ‘acrimonious’, ‘patchy’ and ‘antagonistic’.
The Mail on Sunday approached Sir Chips through the club but he declined to comment. In that final season, 2017-18, as protests grew more vociferous, one member of Wenger’s staff said: ‘You could see the pressure he was under. The crowd was constantly at him and it wasn’t pleasant. It was reflected in his demeanour. And he felt his hold on the club was slipping. When certain decisions came up he’d say: “I don’t have that power any more”.’
The denouement to 22 years came when Gazidis and Kroenke’s son, Josh, then 37 years old, told Wenger in April 2018 that they wanted him to leave at the end of the season, one year before his contract was up.
The team constructed to succeed Wenger by Gazidis has fallen apart over the last year. Gazidis himself left shortly after Wenger in 2018 to join AC Milan. Sven Mislintat, who was to have been the new head of scouting when he was appointed in December 2017, left in February 2019. Raul Sanllehi, who initially joined as head of football relations in February 2018 and was swiftly promoted to head of football, left abruptly in August 2020.
Huss Fahmy came as a contract negotiator i n June 2017, was promoted to head of football operations but left last month.
Darren Burgess was brought in to transform sports science as director of high performance in July 2017 and left in June 2019.
Jaeson Rosenfeld, the head of Arsenal’s analytics company StatDNA and well regarded by Kroenke, left in March this year to join Wenger, who is now chief of
He feels a bit raw because the club could have treated him better
global football development at FIFA. A raft of scouts were also sacked in August. It hardly gives the impression of a clear plan, though the club dispute that.
One interviewee involved in the planning said: ‘We almost overprepared for the succession. Arsene was a brilliant man but the knowledge can’t all be in one person’s brain. Modern football is not like that and you have to be able to delegate. Arsene would acknowledge the game has changed so much.’
Arsenal’s big idea is to give responsibility to three key executives: Venkatesham, technical director Edu and Arteta, for a simpler, leaner model, a halfway house between the dominance of one man and a multiplicity of departments. On that youthful triumvirate rests much responsibility.