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

[Letters]

Wenger had money and chose not to spend it.

[Niall_Quinn]

It's a lot worse than that - he was stealing from the club. He should be in jail, or killed.

Sort of joking aside though, this is getting really worrying. We could end up seriously competing this year. Worst case scenario we could win something again which would make it two years running. Not saying it will happen but we're starting to see more depth to the squad and it was this lack of depth that was the saving grace last year and gave us those big losses to compensate for the cup win. With that lack of depth gone there's nothing to stop us mounting a sustained challenge. Not only that, but the whole injury thing in general will be undermined if we have too many decent players in the squad. They've even brought in new medical and fitness staff FFS!

Okay so we've blown £60mill already trying to buy the title, we've got squad depth, players are coming back from injury, we have world cup winners rejoining the squad soon, the commercial side of things is depressingly strong, but it's not all doom and gloom and the fact remains, Wenger isn't the guy to move this club forward. We almost never won anything ever again with him in charge. He's stubbornly refused to spend the money he's obviously had, then all of a sudden he goes into full financial doping mode, there's no middle ground with this guy, he's out of control. He's a total control freak. We had a glorious opportunity to get rid of him and bring Owen Coyle in. In truth, that opportunity is dead now, I just can't see it happening. Somehow, for some reason, Wenger has survived. He'll literally do anything, absolutely anything, to hang on to his fat salary even if it means trebling the financial power of the club, building world class amenities, bringing in world class players and winning trophies. I wouldn't put anything past him. We hates the Wenger. We hates it! Stole from us it did, sneaky, tricksy Wenger. We ought to squeeze him, yes.

[Power n Glory]

Seriously, aren't any of you wondering why we didn't push the boat out like this last summer or during the winter when the title race was there for the taking?

I read arguments last season saying the money wasn't there and the £100 odd million was swallowed up by wages and the Ozil deal but that argument can be ruled out now in light of this summer window, surely?

What was holding us back from really pushing for that title?

[Niall_Quinn]

Seriously, aren't any of you wondering why we didn't push the boat out like this last summer or during the winter when the title race was there for the taking?

I read arguments last season saying the money wasn't there and the £100 odd million was swallowed up by wages and the Ozil deal but that argument can be ruled out now in light of this summer window, surely?

What was holding us back from really pushing for that title?

Injuries, player availability, player wages demands, agent bung demands, the English premium, paying all the relatives if you are going into the South American market, the fact you can't build an entire squad in one year even if you are one of the dopers. Even with this year's activity, it may take another 2-3 transfer windows to get together the squad that will not just challenge for the title but also for the title after that and the one after. But it's all heading in the right direction.