Has Wenger taken us as far as he can?

[DiamondGooner]

This was a question that I spotted on Sky Sports and I thought it's quite interesting as it may well be true given our last 7 years results so I guess what I'm asking is do you agree with that statement and if you do is it good enough?

When saying good enough I'm referring to the state of play the club is in with regards to transfer money etc.

Is Wenger getting us 4th/3rd every year a good enough achievement with what he has to work with or do you feel another manager could do more?

I think it's a quite timely question considering were going into a new phase with our finances and deals next summer.

Will Wenger spend even when he has the cash?

 

[trunks206]

No I dont think he's taken us as far as he can ONLY because I refuse to believe that he is content with the level of players we have throughout the squad. I'm putting our lack of silverware on finance restraints due to the stadium move (although we have a huge wage bill so we really should be more efficient in our signings/contracts, **** players and perma crocks getting good salaries and good players leaving for better money).

I just cant believe that he feels like players/signings like Squillaci, Chamakh, Silvestre, Gervinho, Santos etc, will win us the league and or Champions League....I just cant believe that and for that reason alone I feel like we need to wait it out and see what he can do when he can bring in the players he truly wants to.

3rd/4th isnt a trophy but its still an achievement considering the competitiveness of the EPL. IMO he knows what he's doing but time and again our squad shows itself not to be strong enough to REALLY compete unless a miracle happens and our first choice XI stays fit all season.

 

[marv3llous]

No

I cant think of any other top manager in the game who would be available for us and who would be an improvement on Wenger. There simply isnt too many to begin with - Pep, Mourinho and maybe few others would be an improvement, but they are out of our league.

More than anything Wenger needs a "David Dein" by his side. Our current problems are caused by financial restrictions and some poor judgement from our scouting team. As soon as we can stop shopping around for Chamakhs, Gervinhos and Parks we will improve.

 

[law90026]

Yes

 

[mo50]

He's taken us as far as any manager could with the resources given to him. Hopefully the new sponsorships will not only allow him to keep his best players but to add top class players to his side.

 

[DiamondGooner]

Some good points here, I thought this would be better than the usual heated Wenger in/Wenger out comments we get after games as this is essentially the point.

It is going to be very interesting once this money comes in to see how or if Wenger can improve the team to get us back into contention to win the league or a trophy.

 

[Bossa]

Emirates, from 5.5m to 30m
Nike/Adidas, from 13m to 25m

Thats a massive increase of 36.5m that we can spend.

 

[jmsmtthw28]

I am sick of this $hit, Wenger OUT brigade can f*** off
I am seriously tired of these fans that love him when we crush Spuds and hate him when we draw a stupid match
We WONT WIN THE LEAGUE OR CL this season and Arsène and the board know this fact so does most of the fans so stop overreacting after every match or follow some other club

Should Wenger leave? NO, why would you want him to leave when we finally have some cash to spend and theirs not a single manager in world football who's got a better eye for a potential WC player

Gazidis has spoken a lot of times previously about fans need to be patient FROM NEXT SEASON ARSENAL WILL COMPETE WITH THE BEST I GUARRANTE IT AND I WANT WENGER TO GET HIS REWARD IN TROPHIES.

The most successful manager in Arsenal history (both on and off the pitch) deserves better than this so stop your whining and start supporting your club and manager

 

[Rain Dance]

He could do better IMO even without the extra money.

 

[Bossa]

The problem is that I do not trust Kroenke with that 40m profit. No way that we will spend much more. Do we really need an owner? We could have gotten equally good deals from our sponsors even without Kroenke.

 

[jmsmtthw28]

Emirates, from 5.5m to 30m
Nike/Adidas, from 13m to 25m

Thats a massive increase of 36.5m that we can spend.

It was more like
Emirates 5.5m + 8m from Nike so around 13.5m althogther now we will get 30m Emirates and 25m from Nike or Addidas
55-13.5 = 41.5m Extra Revenue

Plus we will get a lot of cash upfront from the Emirates so a huge cash inflow next season plus the extra 50m from new TV deal

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

I think he has taken us as far as he can with the limited funds he's had over the last couple of seasons. People will slate me for saying this, but Wenger somewhat deserves to use the newly generated funds now to build a title winning team again, and I certainly trust him to achieve that (that's the reason why I'm willing to give him a bit of time). It's been his solid work in recent campaigns that even gave us the chance to get improved commercial deals now, and generate more significant income which could get invested into the team.

Of course there's no assurance that the funds will be used for the teams, they could end up staying within the club like some of the funds we generated through selling players, but I can't imagine that Wenger is going to be content with that. He is a winner, and he's the most frustrated when we fail to win something, I fully believe that.

However, I don't expect the situation to change drastically or as quickly as people are willing to give Wenger time for, because there are some serious issues to sort out - getting rid of deadwood (we're talking about half a dozen of players, at least), fixing the wage structure, improving the squad with the right players, extending contracts with some of the current ones, etc.

If all goes well, we can be a serious contender for 2013/14. Would mark a nice re-start for the club if we could win something then, a whole decade after the Invincibles, and after a whole decade mixed with sorry defeats, questionable decisions and frustration.
Only question will then be, whether Wenger extends his contract beyond 2014, or if he leaves and hands his successor a platform, many managers would love to work at.

 

[jmsmtthw28]

I think he has taken us as far as he can with the limited funds he's had over the last couple of seasons. People will slate me for saying this, but Wenger somewhat deserves to use the newly generated funds now to build a title winning team again, and I certainly trust him to achieve that (that's the reason why I'm willing to give him a bit of time). It's been his solid work in recent campaigns that even gave us the chance to get improved commercial deals now, and generate more significant income which could get invested into the team.

Of course there's no assurance that the funds will be used for the teams, they could end up staying within the club like some of the funds we generated through selling players, but I can't imagine that Wenger is going to be content with that. He is a winner, and he's the most frustrated when we fail to win something, I fully believe that.

However, I don't expect the situation to change drastically or as quickly as people are willing to give Wenger time for, because there are some serious issues to sort out - getting rid of deadwood (we're talking about half a dozen of players, at least), fixing the wage structure, improving the squad with the right players, extending contracts with some of the current ones, etc.

If all goes well, we can be a serious contender for 2013/14. Would mark a nice re-start for the club if we could win something then, a whole decade after the Invincibles, and after a whole decade mixed with sorry defeats, questionable decisions and frustration.
Only question will then be, whether Wenger extends his contract beyond 2014, or if he leaves and hands his successor a platform, many managers would love to work at.

It depends on where we are at the end of the 2013/2014 season, I think we will mount a serious challenge for the title in the 13/14 season and if Wenger wins the league or wins the CL then he may say job done

But if we dont win anything then the Board and Wenger have a decision to make because the Wenger Out brigade will only get louder and does he want this kind of insult or would it be better to pass on the duties to someone else and retire in peace

The new manager will get time and FUNDS to build a winning team but I really hope Wenger retires after ending this drought. He has changed our club in every way and deserves to be remembered as the greatest manager that ever managed Arsenal

 

[dreamLord]

No, he can take us to 4th place - we're not there yet!

 

[Proof]

The board, Gazidis and Wenger are three heads of the same snake. Has Wenger taken us as far as he can ? Absolutely.

Arsenal gave Wenger the perfect platform to experiment his ideals. Even if he would have £100m at his disposal he won't spend it on world-class players. He's a stubborn man and I don't believe that his approach will suddenly change if he will have the means to sign the very best players and talents.

 

[Dokaka]

His stubborness and determination to prove to people that he's right is his/is going to be his downfall in my opinion.

The way he's conducting himself at this point in time show signs of a man under pressure, and perhaps a man who's age has caught up with him.

For all the faults of Ferguson, Mancini and such, they at least try new things and experiment with the squad - not just player wise, but tactically as well. Wenger has been playing the EXACT same formation for years and years now.

Now, this wouldn't be such a problem if the player material was there for it, but it isn't. Transfer wise, it's always 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Perhaps that's not the fault of Wenger - we don't know - but he's unwillingness to try something different is a real problem.

He used to be an absolute wizard in the transfer market. The invincibles were for the most part (in my opinion) so exceptional because of the player material, not the tactics. It was a team consisting of a world class defence inherited from your former manager, a world class midfield with some of the best midfielders of all time and arguably the 2 best forwards the PL has ever seen up top!

His tactics have always been reliant on massive player ability. There's an emphasis on ability rather than tactics. He simply doesn't have the resources to be able to put the focus on ability anymore. It's for that reason, combined with his stubborness, that is say yes, he's peaked as a manager for Arsenal.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

He used to be an absolute wizard in the transfer market. The invincibles were for the most part (in my opinion) so exceptional because of the player material, not the tactics. It was a team consisting of a world class defence inherited from your former manager, a world class midfield with some of the best midfielders of all time and arguably the 2 best forwards the PL has ever seen up top!

That's incorrect, and I read stuff like that often these days (not aimed at you Dok).
The Invincibles' backline was completely made by Wenger - Sol, Kolo, Cashley and Lauren have all been bought/signed and developed (bar Sol) by Wenger, and no one else.

He inherited the 1996-2002 backline (although without Winterburn in 2002).

 

[Illusion]

The goalposts are always moving further away from him. Billionaires have changed the game, he's done well considering, but he could have certainly done better.

Funds will help, but we'll never be able to compete unless we turn into a billionaires plaything as well.

Yesterday we witnessed a game between two clubs that have spent around £2billion between them within the last decade, all of it artificially injected by billionaire owners. You simply cannot compete with that.

 

[glaveror]

If,and only if,our new and improved sponsorshop deals go towards improving our team then I'd say Wenger will have a chance of building a title winning team again.
If the song remains the same however,and it pains me to say so,then I think 4th place is as much as we can hope for with Wenger-but I sincerely hope he can prove me wrong even if that is the case!

All in all everything hinges on the way we utilize our new funds and I hope we're in for some exciting transfer windows in the near future.

 

[goonerwarsh]

Yes, the invincible defence was built by Wenger not Graham or Rioch.

I don't know whether we can compete with the billions of City and Chelsea. Common sense would tell you no way, but then United seem to have reacted to the changing climate and are still competing. Ferguson is a tough bastard, there was no way he was going to let his side continuinly take it up the arse, especially when their 'noisy neighbours' became rich overnight. He still has them challenging for the league and is still taking them to Champions League finals.

My main worry is, this Arsenal side has got progressively worse season by season in terms of playing personnel. I thought last years side was bad but at least we had Van Persie to pull us out the mire. This years team is the worst we've had since the late Graham years. They look every inch a mid table side to me. Now, if that does happen and we end up mid table or outside of the top four places then the additional money that we gain from any sponsorship is only going to serve to compensate for the loss of the money earnt from being in the Champions League would it not?

I also read this morning that the Emirates money isn't coming into play until the start of 2014-2015 season, I don't know how true that statement is but if that is the case there could be a lot more damage done in that time unless we can turn this around.

It's hard because I still love Arsène Wenger, regardless of the mistakes he's made or continues to make. As infuriating as I find his decisions I still respect the man and was pissed off at the way the press were goading him in that interview.