‘Wenger is tarnishing his legacy’
EXCLUSIVE ALAN SMITH wishes Arsene Wenger had “gracefully stepped down” as Arsenal manager last summer because he believes the Frenchman is out of ideas and his players have “heard it all before”.
Gunners legend Smith fears Wenger, who signed a new twoyear contract in the close season, is now in danger of tarnishing the legacy he has established at the club after 21 years in charge.
Smith scored 115 goals for Arsenal in 347 games over eight years at the club during glory days under George Graham and is worried his old team are now in a state of limbo.
And in a damning verdict that is sure to haunt the Frenchman, Smith said: “I thought last summer would have been the right moment for change for Arsene.
“I would have liked to have seen him gracefully step down and hand over the reins and maybe say, ‘I’ve had a wonderful time here, it’s a long time, it’s time for new methods, a new voice’ – because it must be so difficult for him now to come up with new things to say to his players. They’ve heard it all before.
“Arsene seems to still have that energy and desire. Football is his life. But those of us who love Arsenal have said it so often – you don’t want his legacy to be tarnished.
“And at the moment it is in some supporters’ eyes. The club is in a bit of a state of limbo at the moment.
“Arsene has signed a new two-year contract and a lot of fans think, ‘Are we going to do much different to what we have done in the last 10 years? Probably not’. Maybe everyone is waiting to see what happens at the end of that contract. But the last thing you want a club to be is in limbo.”
It is 13 years since Wenger’s “Invincibles” won the Premier League and Smith fears Arsenal are not getting any closer to repeating that feat. He featured in the Arsenal side who famously won the league under George Graham in 1989 – after 18 years in the wilderness – with a legendary 2-0 win on the final day of the season at Liverpool.
Smith, who scored Arsenal’s first goal at Anfield that night, with Michael Thomas netting the crucial late second, is one of the stars of the new film ‘89’ about that season and that enthralling match. But of the current crop, he said: “Arsenal don’t look like a titlechallenging team this year unless something momentous happens. “I know Arsene will talk about the money and all the rest of it that clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea have, but I don’t think that’s the whole story. It certainly wasn’t when Leicester won the title two years ago. You want it to be rectified sooner rather than later…but I don’t know if it will be.” As much as Wenger refuses to admit it, Arsenal are being kept in Tottenham’s shadow at the moment and the two clubs lock horns at the Emirates tomorrow. But Spurs have finished above Arsenal only once in Wenger’s 21 years in charge at Arsenal, that ‘victory’ coming last season, when Tottenham finished second and Arsenal fifth. Spurs are on course for a repeat this season, however, and Smith is concerned. “Arsenal are too inconsistent,” he said. “We are still in early November and they are still in touch with those teams above them, except for maybe Manchester City, so it’s not like they are lying stranded in mid-table. But this is a huge game against Tottenham. “Not just for the three points but more to show that Arsenal are not a spent force, that they are as good as Spurs on the day. There is so much riding on it.” ‘89’ is in cinemas now and on DVD and Digital Download from Monday.