TOP GUN ARSENE PERFECT MAN FOR ENGLAND
Why Arsenal way is up England’s street
PLENTY of Arsenal fans may have become tired of him over the last two decades, but England should be biting off Arsene Wenger’s hand if he fancies the England job.
Like all managers, Wenger has his faults.
But the 66-year-old is a class act – a boss who Barcelona, Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain have courted over the years.
Highly intelligent, earning himself the nickname ‘The Professor’, Wenger preaches a football philosophy the FA have dreamed of for what seems like an eternity.
It doesn’t always come off, of course. But when it does – as it did in Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League humbling of Chelsea – it is a joy to behold.
He handles the media brilliantly. And with the FA softening their tone about the job having to go to an Englishman, by saying that someone with plenty of Premier League experience could be considered, he is without question the stand-out candidate.
His contract with Arsenal is up at the end of the season and Starsport has revealed previously how Wenger is picturing the end of his amazing reign at the club.
Win the Champions League for the first time or end a 13-year title drought and he can go out on a high. Another failure and the decision will be taken out of his hands.
The prospect of overseeing the Three Lions through to the World Cup in Russia in 2018 must surely now be tempting for the Frenchman. Just as Gunners fans feel like they need a change, Wenger himself could surely be reinvigorated by such a challenge.
Interim boss Gareth Southgate could even work alongside Wenger and learn from a man who has brought so much to English football over the last two decades when it comes to training, diet, professionalism and the manner in which the game is played.
Yes, Arsenal have not been anywhere near a dominant force since ‘The Invincibles’ season of 2003-04.
But Wenger does boast three titles, as well as a Champions League final appearance in 2006.
Joining England next summer would also allow Wenger the opportunity to bow out gracefully at Arsenal, where he officially celebrates 20 years as boss on Saturday.
It’s an intriguing prospect. Who honestly thinks he is less qualified for the job than Southgate, the out-of-work Steve Bruce, Crystal Palace’s Alan Pardew or Eddie Howe of Bournemouth?
None of them, as a coach, has once experienced a title success or a single game in the Champions League, although Howe soon could do, as he is the manager Arsenal have earmarked as Wenger’s successor.
There was plenty of public support yesterday for Wenger to be successor to the departed and disgraced Sam Allardyce, with his name topping a BBC poll.
But last night former Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood, the man who appointed Wenger 20 years ago, poured cold water on the prospect.
“I think it is a lousy job and not really up his street really,” he said.
“You are not really doing anything for a lot of time other than travelling about watching people.”
Next May, though, at the age of 67, that might not sound so bad.