So, is Wenger out officially out?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

With FA cup victory following by the unveiling of Alexis Sanchez in the space of 2 short months, things have never been different at the club. There's a sense of positivity and enthusiasm that's seeping through from board to fans, and after years of bleak, dreary results, it's simply nothing we don't deserve.

The question is whether the Wenger out brigade are officially out, and whether this type of investment makes fans accept him again?

Summer 2014 was always the promised land as Gazidis knew our income streams would explode following years of austerity. Within months of penning the new commercial deals the board have splashed £35m on one of the best talents on the planet. They aren't stopping here; rumours are circulating that Wenger is close to a deal for exciting right back Debuchy, while he has a DM, GK and even another striker on his mind.

The thing with buying top players is that it allows fans to be patient. If we don't win the league next season then at least we can say we tried, and that for me is the crucial part because for years we couldn't say that. Buying players like Sanchez, Ozil and Debuchy shows that the club aren't sitting back making excuses anymore, they're willing to give it a serious go and win silverware. When you watch Sanogo, Diaby and Djourou it frustrates fans because you know the club can perform better if the manager simply invested. We don't pay the highest ticket prices in the world to watch a bunch of novices pull on our beloved Arsenal shirt.

While the club has erupted into a civil war over the past few years as fans have bickered about the man in charge, it's fair to say that Wenger's hunger seems to be back and that if we get anywhere near the same guy that provided us with the invincibles, then the future will not only be bright but unforgettable.

Thank you Wenger out, your union served me well over the past few years, but I'm officially out. This is a new era. The Arsenal are coming.

[GP]

Wenger had money and chose not to spend it.

[Marc Overmars]

He certainly deserves the chance to spend the money he effectively helped generate, there is a feeling of positivity flowing through the club, something not seen in probably 10 years. I commend everyone involved in getting the Sanchez deal done, I didn't think we could pull it off but we did, and it looks like there's still more to come which is the best part.

Wenger has not been without his faults, his tactical and match day savvy doesn't convince me fully, but now he's getting the quality in which can hopefully paper over that. Slate wiped clean for me, however with bringing in bona fide quality there comes a new pressure, we need to challenge for the title and be more competitive in the CL, because guys like Sanchez and Ozil are here to win. 4th place just won't cut it anymore IMO.

Come on you Gunners!

[AKBapologist]

Wenger will never win anything at Arsenal again.
- Zimm cira 2005-2014

[Letters]

I was going to start a similar thread. There has been a lot of criticism of him on here, some deserved but a fair bit has been OTT.

There were thoughts that we'd never win a trophy under him again - it was a school of thought I subscribed to, but now we have.
And it's been a common mantra that Wenger refuses to spend any money, there was some debate about whether he wouldn't spend money or whether he didn't have any. Clearly we couldn't compete with teams like Chelsea and now City but I do think at times he's been too cautious. But I don't think it's coincidence that the minute the new commercial deals are in place we sign Ozil last summer and Sanchez this - with hints there's more to come. It does rather indicate that until the new deals were agreed Wenger was unwilling to risk putting us in long term financial bother for short term gain.

I still think it's time to start preparing for Wenger's successor, if only because of Wenger's age, but he's definitely earned the right to go in a few years under his own terms and will leave a fantastic legacy. Aside from the trophies there is no way we'd be signing players like Ozil or Sanchez were we back at Highbury, we simply wouldn't have the money to. And it's questionable whether we'd have been able to move (we were barely filling Highbury in the 'boring boring Arsenal' era) and stay in the top 4 with the financial contraints the move imposed under any other manager.


In brief: Wenger

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I was going to start a similar thread. There has been a lot of criticism of him on here, some deserved but a fair bit has been OTT.

There were thoughts that we'd never win a trophy under him again - it was a school of thought I subscribed to, but now we have.
And it's been a common mantra that Wenger refuses to spend any money, there was some debate about whether he wouldn't spend money or whether he didn't have any. Clearly we couldn't compete with teams like Chelsea and now City but I do think at times he's been too cautious. But I don't think it's coincidence that the minute the new commercial deals are in place we sign Ozil last summer and Sanchez this - with hints there's more to come. It does rather indicate that until the new deals were agreed Wenger was unwilling to risk putting us in long term financial bother for short term gain.

I still think it's time to start preparing for Wenger's successor, if only because of Wenger's age, but he's definitely earned the right to go in a few years under his own terms and will leave a fantastic legacy. Aside from the trophies there is no way we'd be signing players like Ozil or Sanchez were we back at Highbury, we simply wouldn't have the money to. And it's questionable whether we'd have been able to move (we were barely filling Highbury in the 'boring boring Arsenal' era) and stay in the top 4 with the financial contraints the move imposed under any other manager.


In brief: Wenger

Winning things, pictures on Instagram and Twitter of him cavorting on the beach with scantily dressed young ladies....buying top quality players in positions we need.

It's Identity theft, whatever you've done with the real Wenger....don't let him come back

[Penguin]

Wenger has basically sat back and taken years of flogging from fans, pundits and journalists alike for something he had no control over. The board even put more pressure on him by openly lying about the amount of money he had to spend and making us believe that Wenger was on a crusade to win without spending. And he has done that while refusing offers from Real Madrid and PSG to loyally see his project through. My respect for the man has gone through the roof. He's a legend and fully deserves a chance to use the fruits of his labour.

But Wenger still has a lot to prove. He needs to build on the FA Cup victory and put in a serious challenge for the League and at least have a good attempt at the Champions league. No more silly tactics/substitutions. No more cheap, unnecessary points dropped against weaker teams. And absolutely no more humiliating 6 or 7 goal losses to 'big' teams.

In 2009 Wenger said:

"I think people who analyse the club in 10 years or 15 years will realise that this is a crucial period for the club and a very exciting one - a very difficult one as well," Wenger told reporters.

"They will realise that the work we have done over the last two or three years will be of quality.

It's Wenger's time now. The groundwork has been done and the platform has been built to enable us to compete with the best, largely down to Wenger himself and I for one hope he is the man to bring silverware back home. He at least deserves to see out his three year contract, regardless of whether or not he is as successful as we'd like in that time.

[ARightTouch]

Yep I think we are seeing a new Wenger, which will hopefully mean new silverware. I, like many, have been in or around the Wenger Out brigade over the last couple of years fearing that he has lost the plot. However, winning the FA Cup and signing Alexis Sanchez for 30 odd £m does not coincide with losing the plot. An outstanding signing for the team. Moreover he hasn't waited until 31st August to his business this time.

I haven't felt this positive pre season since??????? Cant remember

[Heisenberg]

No, of course "Wenger out" isn't out. We're football fans, so we're still fickle and prone to knee-jerk reactions. Buying Sanchez has everyone on their feet clapping, as well it should, now but it wasn't like that a week ago, or whenever it was before the Sanchez train started moving. Back then, damn near everyone on this forum was complaining about our summer activities. We had "seen it all before", it was "typical Arsenal", because we weren't making any signings, we were dithering, ignoring the weaknesses in the team, Wenger was being stubborn again, he was frolicking on a beach rather than paying attention while other teams did their business, it was going to be another deadline day if anything summer.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Wenger has basically sat back and taken years of flogging from fans, pundits and journalists alike for something he had no control over. The board even put more pressure on him by openly lying about the amount of money he had to spend and making us believe that Wenger was on a crusade to win without spending. And he has done that while refusing offers from Real Madrid and PSG to loyally see his project through. My respect for the man has gone through the roof. He's a legend and fully deserves a chance to use the fruits of his labour.

I don't think it's quite as simple as that. I think there's been money to spend but Wenger decided to take it to the extreme and not spend any (apart from Ozil, of course). The board have always said they would fund a transfer but Wenger has always said he'd give £100m back if they gave it to him. Not saying he should have spent £100m, but you know what I mean- there was money there to address our deficiencies.

I suppose it's all in the past now. If we look back at those 8/9 years as a small drought in our history, then fuck it, it happened. Only time will tell. For now it's time to sit back and enjoy.