RacingPhoton
Established Member
Doesn't make any sense at all. He says that Arsenal had to let go of Sven so that Emery will have more control and power over the style of play and the players he wants. Then he says that we are hiring a technical director whose job is to influence our style of play and that is great? Two contradictory ideas.Don't know who this guy is (except that he apparently writes for Bleacher Report and FanSided), but he makes sense. Personally, I might not frame it as "great news for Arsenal," but certainly if the major figures at the club don't share the same vision then it's better to move forward now rather than later. It can be good news in the sense that a potential developing problem might be avoided and the club can be unified. Anyway, here are some of the though of James Dudko:
Regarding Ornstein's report about Sven not being on the same page as Sanllehi and Emery:
It’s better for Arsenal to put an end to such squabbling rather than letting it fester. Protracted tension between the men charged with putting the club back among the elite would wreck not only this season but subsequent campaigns.
Mislintat’s own history shows how ugly things can get. He famously fell out with then-Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel over the proposed signing of Oliver Torres.
Mislintat pushed, Tuchel said no. Mislintat upped sticks and left, but only after being banned from the training ground.
Arsenal don’t need this kind of animosity between a director, manager and his chief scout distracting from the season.
By declaring a winner early, the Gunners can move toward the kind of clarity sorely lacking since Wenger left. One coherent message has to emerge, one voice articulating a unified strategy.
It was never going to happen with two of the big three becoming entrenched at opposite ends of the spectrum.
If Sanllehi has assumed control at the expense of Mislintat, Arsenal at least begin to have some much-needed clarity. Mislintat may have been the people’s choice because of his work at Dortmund, but the identity of the man in charge isn’t as important as merely having a sole figure of authority.
Sanllehi steering the ship gives Gunners supporters, understandably baffled by the raft of seismic changes taking place since 2017, some answers.
After that, it’s going to be on Sanllehi to prove he’s up to the task.
On backing Emery:
Mislintat moving on suggests Emery’s voice is being heard where it needs to be. It’s only right for Arsenal to back the man trusted to replace Wenger, with more than just words but also with intent.
No manager can function competently without being able to employ the methods he trusts. Those methods hinge on players he knows.
It’s irresponsible of any club to hire a manager and not give him what he wants and needs for the job. If a manager stands or falls by results, he has to be allowed to choose the players who will be most responsible for those results.
If Arsenal want a cautionary tale about the dangers of asking a manager to act out of character, they need only look at Manchester United. The Red Devils hired defensive-minded and big-spending Jose Mourinho, then complained when he didn’t play an attacking style and develop young players.
Go figure.
Emery needs support for his methods before he can be fairly judged. He needs support because he’s trying to engineer tricky squad changes, like a future without Mesut Özil.
What Emery needs is to work with players who will put his ideas into practice. He doesn’t need to be handed players by a sage guru and reassured things will work out if he simply reads the lines he’s given.
On bringing in a former player as technical director:
One of Mislintat’s biggest gripes concerns Arsenal’s plans to hire a technical director. The German either wanted the job himself or at least wanted to decide who would get it.
The London Evening Standard‘s James Olley described Mislintat as “dismayed” a new director “would have greater authority than he enjoys, including a bearing on the team’s style of play.”
The final part of the last sentence is why Arsenal should be giving the technical director role to a former player. Olley mentioned Edu, while German publication Kicker has put Marc Overmars’ name into the hat.
Both are connected by one thing. They’re Wenger signings who won Premier League titles and FA Cups on the Frenchman’s watch.
Just as important, both Edu and Overmars understand the stylistic revolution Wenger brought to Arsenal. The club’s longest-serving manager enjoyed notable successes, but so did George Graham, Bertie Mee and Herbert Chapman.
Wenger’s abiding legacy in north London wasn’t the trophies. It wasn’t even the “Invincibles” and the unbeaten season, of which Edu was a key part.
Instead, the standout achievement of the Wenger era was the transformation of Arsenal from defensive pragmatists to great entertainers.
Wenger didn’t just swap negative rearguards for expansive passing moves. He made an attractive game as much an expectation of Arsenal as it is of Barcelona and Ajax, two other clubs Overmars has roots in.
Adhering to the stylistic template left behind will provide Arsenal the clarity of purpose any true strategy needs. Signings and youth development can be made with the final, pleasing-on-the-eye end product in mind.
It should mean Arsenal having an identity sustainable from one regime to the next, in both lean times and halcyon days.
Arsenal won’t sink into the abyss without Mislintat. It’s more likely the clarity his departure can provide about what the post-Wenger era looks like will benefit the club in the long-term.
https://fansided.com/2019/01/16/sven-mislintat-pending-departure-great-news-arsenal/