The Wenger enigma: Is it time for a change in the Arsenal hot-seat?

Gerald, you may not want any critisism from Arsenal fans, but what do you expect with this kind of 'nothing' article? Can I ask who you think should take over from Arsene then? Who can guarantee trophies (wouldn't that be great?)? Arsene has always done this and it hasn't done him, or Arsenal, too badly in the past. People are so quick to look for negatives and this type of article is exactly that, negative

Zaiky you are spot on!!!!

Let there be no doubt, the top most consistent teams all have the benefit of a long serving manager. There are very few clubs that can buy quick success and with transfers and wages spiralling upwards there will be even fewer. Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barca & Milan are the only teams able to buy players to cover up the inadequecies of short term managers, and they are all on thin ice if the finance dries up. If you look at the length of time given to Fergie, Wenger, Benitez and even Redknapp & Moyes, you will see clubs behind them realising that it takes 5-10 years to build a challenging club and it needs stability at managerial level. Wenger is young enough still to go through the current rebuilding phase and at least on more before he retires. He doesnt get bored because he feeds off the energy of the new exciting players coming through. Thats why he has input at every level of the club. The simple answer then is 'no change required'. A trophy will be along soon, but in the mean time I'm luvvin following Wengers men. Ironically the winning of the trophies isnt actually the complete raison d'etre, as long as the journey is decorated by beautiful, breathtaking football.

You clearly don't understand Arsenal too well from this article. The responsibilities for producing a winning team lie with more than just the manager, indeed Chelsea's success is almost exclusively due to the bottomless pits of money the board throw at their manager. Contrast this with Wenger, who actually supplies his board with cash so that we could move to a new stadium and compete over the longer term and you'll see that 4 years where Chelsea win more than us is a small price to pay for guarenteeing our competitive position over the next 20 years. The fans that are getting impatient are mostly getting impatient with the board for failing to supply Wernger with bucketloads of cash to add to the first team squad, though thats all part of the wider policy of maintaining stability, certainley until the sale of the flats from the Highbury development are completed and we can further decrease our debt repayments. Sack Wenger? must be a spud.

you're an idiot

Changed the face of english football, changed the training ground/diet/mentality and also designed the new stadium down to the last brick. Brought a team unbeaten for a season which will never be repeated (on a shoe-string budget) Turned Thierry Henry into the best player in the world. Not a bad manager that Arsene Wenger fella is he????????????????

Gerald - do you get the point yet??? It was probably you who made up those quotes from Hleb this morning...

I give up on you Gooners, i really do. I didn,t slate anyone and if you want to keep living on past glories then go and wallow in it. Good luck for next season, you,ll need it

Sorry Gerald, but that response is almost as pathetic as the article. We have replied with perfectly valid arguments to keep the most wanted manager in world football and all you do is slag us off. Who even mentioned you 'slating anyone'? This confirms all of our thoughts - you must be a spud...

There you go again.No i am not a spud and if you read the article properly it is full of praise for what Wenger has done and is continuing to do. Emirates was designed by HOK SPORT, Henry turned himself into a great player. He did not change the face of English football at all. He was part of it. He is not a God and if you are happy winning nothing but playing brilliant football thats great. It means that Wenger has not got a finished article anymore. I like Arsenal i just think that you are all living in la la land. Do you like finishing 3rd and 4th? Do you like those cockney reds winning or the millionaires at Chelsea lifting trophies? Whats wrong with you lot. Where has your winning mentality gone?

We don't your luck for next season, we'll do just fine thank you. I bet you were the sort of plank who wrote us off last season, and then we were top at christmas, it turned out Man U$A had the consisitency we lost in February. You show a serious lack of knowledge about Arsenal Football Club, so I suggest you learn more about the role of Arsene Wenger or stop spouting your natural fertiliser.

Yeah, i did right you off last season and i was correct wasn,t i? You won nothing and for all the great football you played the end result was trophyless. Perhaps if you all jumped off the bandwagon and looked at Arsenal from a different perspective you,d see what iwas trying to say in the article.

Gerald - we can clearly see what you are trying to say. Arsenal should get rid of Wenger. We clearly don't agree that we should get rid of the greatest manager in the modern era - why can't YOU see what WE are trying to say? As for losing our winning mentality - what a load of rubbish. The fact is we haven't won anything for 3 years, you are right in that assessment. However, if anyone is going to bring the trophies back it is going to be Arsene. Sorry mate, but people are allowed to have different opinions. You seem to think that if we don't all agree with you then we are all wrong. That just sums up what sort of journalist/blogger you are.

i am sorry you will be suprised this coming season about ourman wenger.

Wow Gerald, you sure stirred up a hornet's nest with that article. There are some truths in the article but there are more factors that are in play. Firstly; Wenger's investment in long term player development and maintaining a manageable wage structure is the greatest balancing act since Houdini. It will be a miracle if he can maintain that philosophy and compete with the ManU and Chelski's, as well as other US big buck bottomless moneypits. Secondly; if Arsenal hadn't lost momentum last year due to serious injuries and absences, they would have been EPL champions, as they proved that, at full strength, they could beat ManU and Chelski. Despite a very unfortunate season in terms of players lost, they did still finish with sufficient points to win the EPL in an average year. Thirdly; They have not invested in a boatload of superstar arrivals like Chelski is doing AGAIN and ManU might have to do if Ronaldo skips town. Arsene's most recent crop of youthful, eager, skilled and highly motivated players is blossoming. He is also lining up a few promising and experienced players and is ready to let his top scorer from last year leave, so he can bring in lesser lights, who he will promptly mould into top-flight EPL stars. Now tell me how Wenger can be considered as expendible? Yes,Arsenal play very attractive football;Yes they haven't seen silverware in 3 years, Yes; they will lose a few of their stars but NO; they will not crash and burn like you claim if they constinue on the Wenger bandwagon. This season they will do as well as or better than 99% of the EPL teams and are firm candidates to begin their accumulation of EPL and European winnings.

Arsenal have been doing the right thing given the position they are in. Clubs like Chelsea and Real Madrid have warped everything in the game. So Arsenal cannot really compete with these clubs in the transfer market because they can offer inflated deals to players (and consequently the agents). Look at the squad Arsene worked with at the start of last season - everyone wrote them off as mid-table strugglers. So, when that is taken into consideration, Arsene has done a damn good job. Look at Liverpool - despite all the ludicrious spending they have done, they are still desperate to bring new players in! Wenger has made stars out of nobodys. He'll bring in players most of us will not have heard of (like Eduardo) and mould them into the type of players he wants them to be. All the fuss surrounding Flamini and Adebayor is hype. They are not the answer to Milan's problems. But if Milan are willing to pay the right price for Ade, Arsenal may as well cash in for a player who can already be replaced by Bendtner and Vela.

Gerald i think i can see why you said what you did in your article. The problem is as gooners we have a love and a passion for our club and above all the manager, which you clearly dont comprehend. Surely you cant expect any of us to support your opinions. Yes we may enjoy recounting past glories but all football fans do that. and when they come beck again thats what makes the rough times worth bearing. say what you like about arsene wenger and the 3 trophyless seasons but he is one of us because of his love and loyalty fo our club that is why we stand up as one to back the man up. with respect your article was nonsensical.

I totally appreciate what you are saying Keith and i never wanted it to come across as a slagging of Wenger, i like him and think what he has done/is doing is highly commendable. Perhaps i will readress certain phrases and such to ask for all you Gooners true feelings. I am a Celtic man and had to endure the 90,s when under Liam Brady and Tommy Burns, Celtic were playing such attractive football yet won nothing. It hurt but the only solace i got was being able to hold my head high when meeting friends who are Rangers fans (of which i have many) saying to myself "We played those buggers off the park yet still went down playing football the way it should be played" I cannot stand this defensive minded bullshit that goes on and living off others mistakes to win a game. Believe me, as i said, i made a point of watching Arsenal more than any other English club simply because i felt exhilerated watching them. Celtic are the same, we try to play the way it should be played, its ingrained into the club. Yet, when Martin O,Neill came along we started winning with aggresive, physical sides who would wear down the opposition. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to have a few special talents at the same time (Larsson, Moravcik). I hope your brand of football wins through, i really do but i just cant see it yet. Good luck.

cheers for your reply gerald. i think you touched many nerves due to the fact that loyalty is high on the agenda for gooners at the moment and english football in general. maybe i'm naive to expect it from players fortunate enough to be selected to wear the red and white but it would be an honour to play for my team if i did not have two left feet ( sure you feel the same about celtic) thanks for your good wishes, i hope you're wrong about it being too soon. we nearly proved you wrong last season, 4 points over 38 games is pretty close in my book. cheers, all the best for next season.