How will Arsenal fare without Wenger?
Is Arsenal bigger than Arsene Wenger? Yes.
Can Arsenal survive, and do well, without Wenger? Yes.
In recent years, thanks to the rampant speculation surrounding Arsene Wenger’s future (damn Spanish media), the notion has been raised that losing Wenger will hurt Arsenal.
Very few people can, single-handedly, make the fortunes of an institution (ruining them is easy, ask Leeds or Newcastle). Arsene Wenger is one of these people, and it’s obvious that Wenger’s loss will result in gaping void at Arsenal that they will have difficulty in filling.
However, I don’t think that losing Wenger will necessarily hurt Arsenal, as long as the club prepares for it.
The key questions the club will have to answer are:
Who is good enough to succeed Wenger and immediately lead Arsenal to a title challenge?
Who can respect Arsenal’s playing traditions and adapt his tactics and management style to suit Arsenal?
So here’s a question for Arsenal fans - who do you think is capable of replacing Wenger?
- Arsenal need Wenger to play more mind games
- Unlucky Arsenal should thrash Hamburg
- Why Wenger made Gallas Arsenal captain
- I hope Henry is not leaving
- Can Arsenal beat Bolton and get back in the title race?
Discussion - 60 Responses
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I think the lack of an anwer on here speaks volumes. This is a tough one to answer ahmed
I’d recommend a dynasty approach - like Shankley, Paisley, Fagan. It will be Wenger followed by Primovoric or Rice or Grimandi or Adams or someone from the inside. The club is created in his image and it will be taken on - and improved - by people who understand it and develoop it…
Paisley won more than Shankley - this is the way in which empires are built.
Does Arsene have a twin brother?
Personally, I think Arsene Wenger’s failure to win the Champion’s league over the past 11 years proves, or the UEFA CUP final against Galatasaray, proves that he is good, but not as good as people think. True, he’s done wonders for the club, but that’s because of the idiots we have in the board. I would like to see a Fabio Capello, a Rafa Benitez, a winning progressive coach. Arsenen is hiding behind his flaws by not making big signings. He promises to when under pressure but then comes out with ridiculous statements late on. For hardworking fans that pay for the most epxensive tickets in football, I think we are being shrot-changed when Chelsea can get Claudio Pizarro on a free transfer and we pay 7m for the hapless Adebayor. His failure to add to the 49ers squad has seen them all leave and soon Gallas, Toure, Fabregas, van Persie will follow suit. Meanwhile the midtable and smaller clubs are strengthening so if you don’t want to be watchinf Cahmpionship football in a few years, get rid of him and look for Capello who’s free and has won the Champion’s league and league titles at each and every club he’s coached in Spain and Italy.
Whoever it will be, it won’t be based on the “whoever is in vogue” criteria Gill has at Man United, see: http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2132652,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=5
Last thing we need is a trendy manager….
i do think that finding another wenger is not unnecessary. let not talk about the manager’s coaching style or playing style. arsenal shouldnt find a wenger’s replacement, instead they should find another manager that is capable of bringing arsenal back to the glory days or maintaining where arsenal is now at the moment. maybe now currently capello suits the bill but language wise, he will lose out alot as he cant speak english. same goes to lippi. both are great managers. what a waste.
Yeh, its a tough one.
Umm Guus Hiddink, Fabio Capello, Cladio Ranieri, Garrard Houlier or Morinho who knows theres a lot of coaches and I think that there are coach’s who can succeed Wenger.
Where Wenger will go?
Real Madrid
England
Yeah the lack of response speaks volumes: “Arsene is going nowhere”
Cant think of anyone specific. Whenever the premier league clubs wanted an easy solution, they used to look to scotland, so just for the sake of it, here goes- Gordon Strachan. But we cant lose wenger, not right now.
Pesonally I reckon Wenger will semi-retire into the Director of Football position, and we will therefore need a manager who’s happy to work with him: either Boro Primorac or Liam Brady.
Vincente Del Bosque, Otmar Hitzfeldt are two I’d throw in.
Ian Dowie?
It needs to be someone who can continue down the road of playing free flowing attacking football and that sort of rules out Mourinho, Cappello and Benitez. Secondly it would have to be someone who could build and nurture a team with out depending on the club buying superstar coz we can not afford them and I think it would be difficult to even attract them to us. Hiddink would be great but I think he is already walking in Abramovich leash. I’m more hoping for another Dutchman to be our manager and that is Marco van Basten.
they wont need to arsene is at arsenal 4 life the best coach in the world he made arsenal he will never leaveeeee he said he wont go internation he wont go real hes stayin
A bit’out there’ but I reckon Marco Van Basten would be a good call.
i’d love to see laudrup come over once he gets some more years of experience at getafe
mjc: your solution would mean there are, in effect, 2 managers running the club which i don’t think would be a good idea in any event.
I like the idea of Fabio Capello running things. He’s a legend in his own right & his defensive style of play might do wonders for the team’s overall footballing discipline. And what about Vicente del Bosque? He doesn’t sound bad either & from what i’ve heard his man management style is similar to Wenger’s. Both of these guys are capable of bringing us our much sought after European glory. I was thinking of mentioning Didier Deschamps as well. He could fit right in to the Arsenal culture & has had good experience with Monaco & Juventus.
I don’t think Hiddink, Ranieri or Houllier are suitable for the team & style we have at the moment. I don’t know enough about Strachan to make a fair assessment, so for now i’d reject him too.
If Wenger leaves, you can expect an exodus of key players that will cripple the squad. Expect that we will struggle for a UEFA Cup spot even. We might be able to recover if we get the right manager which i think should be one of the above 3 which i have mentioned in the affirmative.
I’m a bit worried about an Arsene move away from the Emirates. I’m relatively new to watching EPL (year 2000) and Arsene has always been there. Every other manager seems like an ass.
mjc: just to add, i agree with your earlier comment about not looking for the trendy manager of the moment. Cool heads have to prevail in the boardroom to appoint someone sensible with a logical & clinical approach to management. The decision has to be made free of emotion & fear.
Probably Felippe the manager of portugal so morinhio can leave the premiership and manage Portugal, since its his dream.
One more comment to add. I know, i’m annoying like that. Live with it.
What do people think about Aime Jacquet? I think he’s a bit old for the position but apart from that he’s got a fantastic record & a great no-nonsense management style. He can handle the pressures of a big club & expectations from fans & media alike & his organisational skills are awesome. I actually think of Wenger as a younger version of Jacquet. What do you guys think?
Ian Wright & Tony Adams
I think there is a guy out there called Tunde Ajanaku who can succeed wenger perfectly . He was recently contacted by Real mardrid but urn down the offer.
Deinde
The perfect man is Vicente Del Bosque… he is a manager we liked when he was with Real also…. But Wenger will not leave at this moment
Jacquet is too old and he’s been away from football for quite sometime.Capello is good but he’s thinking of retiring. Deschamps is a good choice. I think today the basic requirement is the ability to keep the dressing room stable and if deschamps could handle disgruntled Juve players who were forced to play in the second league, he can handle anything…………
anyone who suggest capello must be off his rockers. as a real supporters i can tell you that the boring boring chelsea tag will change hands to you and suddenly your team will be flooded with over the hills player like canavaro and emerson. as for del bosque his success at real had far more to do with the amount of money spent as opposed to tactical abilities. i would suggest a young upcoming coach with attacking instinct in the rijkaard,laudrup,van basten mould.
I think this is a load of rubbish! We could talk like this about any Premiership team. ferguson, Mourinho, Benitez. Realistically any of them could be out of a job for one reason or another. Whether its not reaching expectations, or maybe just retiring in Fergies case.
But I think theres more there to keep wenger in a job than not. Less Expectation and pressure, a future that can only be realised if he stays, and no other club that can offer him a true challenge.
I think he knows how close he is to making Arsenal the perfect team once again. He won’t quit until he’s achieved his goals. A bit like Fergie i expect!
as an arsenal fan i hope kroeke buys the gunners and brings dein in with him. It’s obvious that wengers only problem is with the current board. If this happens wenger will definitely stay. And a Wenger with money will be amazing!
I was worried about Jacquet’s age but SAF himself is the same age. He could come on for a short-term contract maybe. He’s been in the hierarchy of French football until recently though & to manage the French team with all the pressure he was under at the time was a fantastic achievement.
If its true about Capello retiring then that’s a shame. I think he would be almost perfect for this job, regardless of the possible ‘boring’ tag we might or might not be stuck with. You can’t argue with success.
Yes, we could be talking about any Premiership team but we’re talking about Arsenal right now because there is a lot of uncertainty & secrecy surrounding many issues with the club. We’ve been through the same kind of discussions when SAF wanted to retire those many years ago so what’s the problem with a little debate right now when its warranted?
I don’t think Rjikaard or Van Basten will be giving up their current jobs anytime soon. Laudrup is an interesting choice primarily because his attacking & passing style of coaching is very similar to Wenger’s. Deschamps would be a good long-term replacement in my opinion.
I also feel that Wenger is going to stay on for a little while longer. He still has unfinished business at Arsenal & i feel he would want to leave something of a crowning glory at the club before he leaves (if he ever does).
I don’t agree with the idea of a takeover. We’re not in a financial crisis right now & Wenger’s style is suited to these kind of ‘financial restraints’ if there really are any. Even if he has the millions to buy, who’s to say he will use them? He’s very philosophical in his managerial style & i doubt he’ll splash money for the sake of it just to satisfy the fans & other players. The current board has done wonders with keeping Arsenal fiscally responsible. Read Arsebloggers comments on this takeover saga. I agree with much of what he has to say.
There was a debate yesterday about spurs chance’s o’ making it to the champions league,and most people din’t see it happening while arsenal are the way they are,but truthfully speaking unless there’s a mourinho out there we dont know about,if wenger was to leave arsenal,the gunners will no doubt loose the number 4 spot, prolly even drop to mid table,start competing for table places with boro and blackban.
All these young players are all in his masterplan,and a new couch would have time catchin up or even understanding the use of some players .
Believe me, Arsene went unbeaten and that immortalized him in his mind. So now anything he does is seen as a stroke of genius. I thought managers are brought in to win trophies, but he seems to prefer making the club an academy to feed the likes of Madrid, Barcelona and Juve. I agree maybe the managers such as Rijkaard, van Basten and Laudrup would be suitable successors to AW. However I have to point out that as bad as our board are, the only way to get AW to spend is if his job is on the line i.e. he has to bring in trophies. That is why the current board was stupid to give him free reign plus the choice of bringing in his own director of football. That way, he can field an under 14 team if he fancies it.
Spizzy. Isn´t that a problem that every new manager faces, whether it´s Mourinho, Benitez etc? Why does it only apply to our club because most our players are young?
Hey. I’ve been on vacation in Canada, has wenger left arsenal or is this just speculation.
It’s just a discussion Howay, don’t get carried away by it. Kinda like a peek into the future.
I dont want a takeover at arsenal. There was a valid point that edelman(i think thats his name) one of the directors of the gunners raised, and that is, a board is always better than a single owner, because face it,this is a huge business, and one is in mainly for the profit. What did F1 supremo bernie say? It was something like “I support Chelsea but I wouldnt mind buying arsenal if it was cheap”! At least in a joint ownership, there would be some group responsibility. Plus there would be problems with massive egos(recall roman vs jose?) They say we dont have money and we are in debt. Well so is Chelsea and Man U, and so will liverpool be once they start building their new stadium. As of now, things look a bit unstable, but this is better than a takeover.
Wenger has been an excellent coach for Arsenal.
Arsenal is bigger than any one person ..even Arsene.
So many fans forget that.
There are also many good mgrs out there right now who cd do a job.
In my opinion, wenger has taken the youth policy to a level of complete infatuation. This has affected our success in the past few years and will continue to do so.
We will be in a stage of perpetual transition for the next 5 years…whilst the big spenders run off w/ the trophies. Remember sir Alex, mourinho,benitez aint bad mgrs themselves…all champions league winners
Just thought you guys would be interested. There’s a piece about wenger in goal.com where he sounds confident in his new team. And most importantly, he’s named Eboue as one of the guys who’ll be playing wide in the midfield as opposed to defence. Guess that bit about sagna is cleared up…….
The best man to succeed Wenger is Frank Rijkaard, because he can make his team play football and gets along well with other people. He may not be as good in finding talents like Wenger, but that is a job for a scout, not a manager.
IF WENGER GOES, PAT RICE IS THE ONLY OPTION FOR ME.HE KNOWS WENGER WELL AND WILL KNOW THE SYSTEMS HE USES IN MATCHES AND IN TRAINING.ALSO TONY ADAMS OR GRIMANDI SHOULD BECOME MANAGER ONE DAY. ! WHO THE HELL WOULD WANT MOURINHO AS ARSENALS MANAGER, RATHER SEE ARSENAL GO DOWN !
i think many people will agree in saying wenger has the best eye at spotting talent.i mean had you ever heard of FABREGAS, MERIDA, FABIANSKI, ALMUNIA, EBOUE, TOURE, HLEB, CLICHY, ADEBAYOR, TRAORE before the came to arsenal !!!
For a minute there, i thought one guy up there ^^^ said ian dowie
when that day comes i’ll sell my audi for a camel n call myself prince abibu. If u ask me, Mark Hughes… same eye for talent that wenger has without the need of large amounts of cash. e.g mccarthy, samba, warnock, bentley
@ chapman,yeah all managers face that problem but mourinho managed to win the EPL in the first year so im just saying he can probably cope.You have to admit most coaches will have a hard time working with the young players,even though they are incredible talents most coaches prefer some old heads in the squad just to stable the ship a bit.
I think an inside man like Tony Adams will be a perfect idea. The idea of people like capello will crash the club, he would entirely change the squad, and rebuilding will take a while. Michel Landrup is not a bad idea at all. Juande Ramos is not a name to forget.
no. consider the league now. manu, chelsea n liverpool are packed with money n very experienced managers. ( if fergie go, keane is here n believe me, he’s gud) . a new possibly inexperienced manager will come, n no gud will befall 2 arsenal. remember rafa is still learning the english game n arsenal have relatively no bucks. players like fabregas will go. n tottenham (sorry 4 the spelling) will administate the final blow… taking the 4th place…. mark those words
I’m VERY surprised nobody mentioned Dennis Bergkamp?
I know he’s not a manager (yet), but it seems that he would fit into Wenger’s role kinda seamlessly. That should give him time to develop his own way. The way I see it, it will be better than signing Rijkaard or Van Basten.
Then again, what do I know…I’m not an Arsenal supporter and don’t quite follow the club/player going-ons.
Gerard Houllier anyone - say what you want about a man who delivered a relatively successful five year plan at Liverpool and a very good five year plan at Lyon, and he’s French so there would be no language barrier.
More interestingly (normally I side with Spurs fans over Arsenal), it’s good to see a hypathetical debate being talked about adultly in the boring close season unlike the over-sensitive spurs fans here;
http://soccerlens.com/what-if-berbatov-had-left-tottenham/2630/
Grow up boys and just enjoy the debate and stop bitching about the amount of time you wasted looking at the articles, if you don’t like it, p*ss off.
1)i think they would need another person who has connections. if wenger left for another team (which i dont think he will do), arsenal would not have players like eboue, toure or clichy. someone with influence in brazil like scolari maybe?
2)they would need someone who would promote attacking football, Frank rijkaard has been rumoured to want out of barca in the near future to take a year out of the game. or maybe van basten, his dutch team were attacking in the world cup, and he used younger players like van persie instead of players like the older, more established strikers van nistelrooy and roy mackaay. he could also probably influence young, talented dutch players to come over, of which there are always a few, eg, van huntelaar, babel, drenthe and more.
If you’re thinking of bergkamp, i think tony adams could be a good choice. He’s already an assistant manager at portsmouth so he would be experienced also. Plus he would be respected by the players. But everything else aside, we know Wenger wont leave now. So it is safe to speculate like this………….
Arsenal can’t afford to lose wenger at the end of next season, no matter who would replace him. the reason being if we are in a transition period now, we will without doubt have to start from scratch. We’ll lose all the youngsters that are coming through, and everything wenger has worked towards.
rijkaard or capello wouldn’t be good enough they are used to walking into already established squads and topping them up with the best players in the world. We’d need somebody to come from somewhere like Ajax or one of the French teams, who can work with youth set-ups and produce talent rather than buying the finished articles.
There’s a guy at PSV with koeman who pretty much set up the Ajax youth set up, don’t know what he’s called, but someone like him. And even then they should work under Wenger for a good few years first a bit like Queiros at man united.
Gooner10 you are right about connections!
well as much as i hope he does leave and as much as i despise arsenal I have alot of respect for them
arsene wud not have spent all that time getting those youngsters signed and teaching them the art of beautiful play and i hope with all these young signings benitez is making we can be doing the same thing soon
but arsenal need expeirence or their ambitious youngsters will leave and go to other clubs well anyway arsenal will not go without CL football im sorry spurs fans arsenal still have talent without ljunberg and henry.
BTW just incase im wrong and wenger does leave Capello will ruin your club so i actually agree that houlier is a good choic
1st of all, I think Wenger will leave in 3 years time, and I would personally plump for Gus Hiddink with Bergkamp somewhere in there to keep the momentum going ( I think someone mentioned Van Basten, not a bad choice)I think a Dutch flavour would keep our footballing traditions as is, so maybe evn Rijkaard. Secondly, Real Madrid, are you mad, no way would Wenger go to that club after completing his time at Arsenal. Too tempestuous a board, and he would want the same freedom he has always had. I believe he would stay at Arsenal as Director of Football and tie that in with a National team like France or maybe even England. Who Knows?
oh my days there are some shit choices there. How can u disrespect a man who not only changed arsenal but revalutionized english football with his training methods. His style of football is second to none. Only barce can play the football we do and they can do that because of the milions they have spend. Houlier? Capello? benitez? are u all joking, id fucking die if those clowns took over. We play the most attractive football and those guys would ruin our club. Id wanna van bastin or klinsman to take over, people with a similar football philosophy
Van Basten would seem ideal to me, or otherwise although he played for Spurs and also is relatively untried Jurgen Klinsmann showed he could get fairly average players to play attractive, but physical football with Germany at the WC.
van basten is over
Sad that only one person has mentioned Juande Ramos. Also maybe someone from the Eredivisie would be great. But hands off Ten Cate, he should come to Barca when Frank goes.
Though I really like Arsenal, I’m happy that Henry was freed up. Hopefully we’ll get Cesc back sometime soon. Though if Arsene is really dedicated he should buy experienced players who can guide the young guns to CL victory or atleast another title. Two years without trophies is terrible for a club that wants to be known as a major player in football.
I had never follow a football club and remain as neutral for many years, until I saw how Arsenal play their football under Arsene, until i realised how little money he spend on unknown players and make them superstars.
Sorry I am not a diehard Arsenal fan, if Arsene joins other club, I will follow his Arsene football else where.
Wenger has agreed to a new 3 year deal according to guardian. Take that you arsenal-hating pricks……….
Sorry,thats according to daily express. The news is on desigunner.com
Hi guys! Obviously, all of you forgot the leaving of David Dein!!!