In an off-the-cuff statistic to make us all feel just that little bit older (no need to thank us), it has been almost 20 years since a little-known manager from the J-league took over as manager of Arsenal. His name? Arsene Wenger. His credentials? Nothing that you couldn’t replicate on a casual afternoon of playing Football Manager. And while Wenger’s first foray into Premier League management was nothing short of a baptism of fire, the inexperienced Frenchman soon set about transforming the Gunners into one of the most formidable teams in Europe at the turn of the Millennium.
His finest moments as Arsenal boss to date undoubtedly has come under his side’s ‘invincible’ season of 2003/2004 when the Gunners went the entire league season unbeaten. Since then, Arsenal’s successes on the pitch have been too few and far between for many of their fans’ liking and after arguably squandering their best chance of a Premier League title this season after failing to capitalise on the shortcomings of their rivals; we’re of the opinion that the Emirates’ trophy cabinet will continue to be relatively bare whilst Wenger is at the helm.
Here are five reasons why Arsenal will never win a Premier League title under Arsene Wenger again.
1) He spends Arsenal’s money like it’s his own
Barring the odd big-money purchase on the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, Wenger has hardly been acquiescent to fans’ calls for the club to loosen their purse strings in the transfer windows. Whilst their fierce rivals in the Premier League and beyond have parted with the hefty sums required to bring in some of football’s biggest names; Arsenal’s list of recent acquisitions is very much indicative of a club and a manager who care more about the bottom line of their balance sheet as opposed to how successful they are on the pitch.
2) His scouting network isn’t what it used to be
Some of Arsene Wenger’s purchases during his formative years at Highbury were nothing short of inspired. Thierry Henry? Patrick Vieira? Robert Pires? Fredrik Ljungberg? These are just a few of a clutch of world-class players who made their name while playing under the mentorship of Arsene Wenger. And what’s more, many of the players that Wenger has turned into household names over the years were very much unknown quantities before their arrival at the North London club.
These days Arsenal’s latest acquisitions have flattered to deceive in a scouting climate that has seen even the most unchartered of lower and foreign leagues produce its fair share of footballing gems.
3) He hasn’t evolved
If there was ever a piece of modern pop culture that highlighted how little Arsenal have changed as the years have worn on, it is a famous scene from British sitcom ‘The IT Crowd’ which was aired back in 2008.
In this particular episode, the show’s two main protagonists, Moss and Roy, must befriend a group of beer-chugging, football-watching ‘alpha males’ and despite their appalling knowledge of lad culture, still manage to become accepted as one of the ‘geezers’ after relying on just two key phrases they acquired from a football website (bluffball.co.uk) which teaches people an array of footballing vernacular.
“Did you see that ludicrous display last night?” uttered Roy in one of the early scenes in a working class London pub to one of the clientele (phrase number one).
“What was Wenger thinking, bringing Walcott on that early?” the punter promptly replied.
“The problem with Arsenal is, they always try and walk it in.” declared Roy with conviction. (phrase number two).
While some would argue the premise of the IT Crowd’s laughter-track sitcom format to be a little dated, the general analysis of Arsenal’s playing style which served as a plot point in the episode still rings true today. Arsenal do still try and walk it in, and there’s no doubt fans are still frustrated with Theo Walcott and the times of which his manager brings him on as a substitute.
4) He has no Plan B
Arsenal has rightly been lauded in recent times as having one of the most attractive styles of play in Europe. Their expansive passing game is capable of ripping sides apart on its day but, unlike some of their European counterparts who can switch their play from ‘delicate tiki-taka’ to ‘aggressive long-ball’ in seconds, the Gunners, unfortunately, don’t have a roster or indeed a manager quite that dexterous to mix things up.
For years, Arsenal have only known how to play one way. And when the Big Sams of this world head to the Emirates with a plan to stifle their one-dimensional style of play, they usually leave the home side frustrated.
5) No backing from the fans
The ‘Wenger out’ picket line has been growing steadily for quite some years and has now become as regular an occurrence as Harry Redknapp hanging out a car window on transfer deadline day or Liverpool fans saying it is ‘finally their year’.
Whilst it is possible for some managers to handle unrelenting pressure from fans and ‘prove the haters wrong’ as it were, a large section of Arsenal’s support have been banging their drum to the same beat for many seasons now. Frankly, we don’t see that changing until some fresh ideas, aka new managerial personnel, are brought into the club.
