WENGER IS STAYING !

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

The interviewer asked: Will you stay or will you go at the end of the season?

The Frenchman, who has been the Gunners' manager since 1996, replied: "Look, I've said that many times already, I've given my word to this club and I want to continue where I am."

Then, after a long pause, he added: "That means to stay."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsene-wengers-arsenal-contract-saga-3458736

2 more years of Wenger until one of the top managers become available, then in summer 2016 we can say goodbye to Wenger and welcome one of them on board. Sounds about right.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

The interviewer asked: Will you stay or will you go at the end of the season?

The Frenchman, who has been the Gunners' manager since 1996, replied: "Look, I've said that many times already, I've given my word to this club and I want to continue where I am."

Then, after a long pause, he added: "That means to stay."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsene-wengers-arsenal-contract-saga-3458736

2 more years of Wenger until one of the top managers become available, then in summer 2016 we can say goodbye to Wenger and welcome one of them on board. Sounds about right.

Doesn't say anything that he's been not saying for months. He wants to stay and I think he feels confident that he will attain the goals of 4th place and FA cup that will allow him to stay (by that I mean the fan feeling against him won't be so bad that he will call it a day). I hope that confidence feeds its way through to the players.

[Özim]

2 more years of 4th place, frustration and collapses. Maybe we should all come back in 2 years time, we know what will happen in advance after all, he epitomises predictability.

[Özim]

Doesn't say anything that he's been not saying for months. He wants to stay and I think he feels confident that he will attain the goals of 4th place and FA cup that will allow him to stay (by that I mean the fan feeling against him won't be so bad that he will call it a day). I hope that confidence feeds its way through to the players.

If he wants to stay, he'll stay regardless of anything else, the board will never get rid of him, all they do is praise him. He decides his own future at the club.

[Marc Overmars]

I just hope there are some decent managers available for us in 2016.

[Munchies]

Monaco are offering a double your money contract to him, so I think he'll end up there in the next 2 years.

Klopp's contract is till 2018. <_<

[Globalgunner]

is any club out there, apart from us looking to sign a 65 year old manager who hasnt won anything in almost a decade. I think not.

[Niall_Quinn]

Cool. Things are looking up.

Quiz.

Am I?

1. Pissed
2. Rat arsed
3. Drunk as a skunk

Free traffic cone for first correct answer

[Power n Glory]

Cool. Things are looking up.

Quiz.

Am I?

1. Pissed
2. Rat arsed
3. Drunk as a skunk

Free traffic cone for first correct answer

:lol:

3!!!

[Niall_Quinn]

Where do I send the cone?

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

If he wants to stay, he'll stay regardless of anything else, the board will never get rid of him, all they do is praise him. He decides his own future at the club.

My point being is he won't want to stay without the two things I have mentioned. I think he is confident that he will achieve both. Within the last two weeks he's got to the FA cup final and a top four spot is whilst not nailed down, in our own hands.
Do I think he has overstayed his welcome? Yes do I think he should be forced out if we win the FA cup? No.

[Letters]

If it annoys Zim then I'm all for it :d

Seriously, if we win the FA Cup and finish 4th then it will have been a decent season. One could argue he'd deserve a chance to build on that, especially having got the monkey off our back of not winning trophies. Anything else and he should go.

[Letters]

If he wants to stay, he'll stay regardless of anything else, the board will never get rid of him, all they do is praise him. He decides his own future at the club.
Because he's meeting their targets. If he wasn't, he'd have been out long ago. He has kept us top 4 which seems to be what the board expects.
I know, you don't care, but the wider footballing world does if you look at the money clubs are throwing around to get there. A 'top 4' is a completely artificial thing which has been created by the CL but we are where we are and like it or not it is recognised, not just at Arsenal, as an achievement.

I don't think many managers at this level would have kept their job having not won a trophy for this long.
But I don't think many managers would lose their job if they finish 4th and win the FA Cup, if that's what happens.

[Özim]

Because he's meeting their targets. If he wasn't, he'd have been out long ago. He has kept us top 4 which seems to be what the board expects.
I know, you don't care, but the wider footballing world does if you look at the money clubs are throwing around to get there. A 'top 4' is a completely artificial thing which has been created by the CL but we are where we are and like it or not it is recognised, not just at Arsenal, as an achievement.

I don't think many managers at this level would have kept their job having not won a trophy for this long.
But I don't think many managers would lose their job if they finish 4th and win the FA Cup, if that's what happens.

You're right he's meeting their targets, their target is clearly money.

It's not just about this season, though the calamitous collapse leaving us fighting for 4th and the spankings have been pretty poor, it's about the clear lack of change, willingness to adapt or recognise the failings, this is where the problem lies, whether we get 4th and win the FA Cup or not the failings still remain.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

You're right he's meeting their targets, their target is clearly money.

It's not just about this season, though the calamitous collapse leaving us fighting for 4th and the spankings have been pretty poor, it's about the clear lack of change, willingness to adapt or recognise the failings, this is where the problem lies, whether we get 4th and win the FA Cup or not the failings still remain.

I agree but it's a fine margin

We could turn around at the end of the season, and Chelsea who completely dismantled us end up winning nothing, and we win a piece of silverware.

Same with Man City, I certainly regard the FA cup as bigger than the league cup

And in the final analysis it could be that all our poor peformances away from home won't actually prove all that significant.

[Özim]

I agree but it's a fine margin

We could turn around at the end of the season, and Chelsea who completely dismantled us end up winning nothing, and we win a piece of silverware.

Same with Man City, I certainly regard the FA cup as bigger than the league cup

And in the final analysis it could be that all our poor peformances away from home won't actually prove all that significant.

I agree with you to an extent, but they still show a lack of competitiveness and some problems which IMO from history we just won't solve, indeed Wenger seems to insinuate these were one off results which shouldn't be too concerning.

I don't know, after 9 years I think these issues are very relevant to the level of progress, I'd expect better after such a long time to get it right. I think Man City and Chelsea have both stuttered this season, maybe it's to be expected with new managers in charge so their seasons haven't been that great, but we need to look at our own season and progress which IMO is minimal if there is any.

[LDG]

:o

:faint:

"I told you!"

Well....

You just see...

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I agree with you to an extent, but they still show a lack of competitiveness and some problems which IMO from history we just won't solve, indeed Wenger seems to insinuate these were one off results which shouldn't be too concerning.

I don't know, after 9 years I think these issues are very relevant to the level of progress, I'd expect better after such a long time to get it right. I think Man City and Chelsea have both stuttered this season, maybe it's to be expected with new managers in charge so their seasons haven't been that great, but we need to look at our own season and progress which IMO is minimal if there is any.

I agree with you in that I believe they are significant results as well as it shows this is a man who cannot cut it against the sides he wants to finish ahead of, what i mean is they may prove not to significant in terms of this season because of ending up in a situation where Chelsea have trounced us and finish no better off than us etc.
These things tend to be black and white, and the bones of it is it will be seen that 4th and fa cup is an improvement on simply 4th which is what we achieved last season.
Is it good enough?....No of course not, the FA cup will paper over the fact that this season has been a disappointing one but i'll take it simply because as fans it's the very least we deserve after nine years (assuming of course we win it, and i'm not counting my chickens on this one).

[BlindFaith_8]

Oh no, please wake me up from this nightmare and tell me I was just having a bad dream. Two more years of thrashings, fighting for 4th place Premier/CL qualifier Trophy, more crap players on the cheap and poor football with no pace or zip. This is bad news, why do we rely on this man as theonly person that can manage Arsnal? I got up in a good mood this mornng but now I just feel so low and nothing to look forward too for the next 2 seasons atleast. Fucking hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why couldnt he have don the decent thing and moved up stairs end of season and identify a new young aspiring manager. Bollox.

[GP]

Great news.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I'm ok with that if we do win the FA Cup with Budweiser. It'd be a season with a fairly large difference to the rest recently and we'll see if actually inspires anybody afterwards for next season. I presume not but I'd like to see him get the chance otherwise we've wasted a lot of time discussing just how important it is to win things.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I more or less agree with that. The trophy should he win it will inevitably buy him a certain amount of patience with many. Even if it won't make a difference for many too.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Yes that is how I would feel about it. Although for his own sanity I'd like to see him go having left some sort of success but I can see why he would get the bug and stay on if he does win the FA Cup.

[Marc Overmars]

A 2 year deal is significant because he's always signed on for 4 years. Le Grove made an interesting observation about the new youth coach coming in and also a few other changes below the first team, with coaches being sought externally. Seems as though preparation has already begun for the post-Wenget era.

I want a change regardless of what happens in the cup final but 2 more years is not going to bother me considering I've been disillusioned for longer than that already. Plus we have some money and might win a trophy, so that's good at least for the short term.

[fakeyank]

He is staying?! :banghead:

More tippy tappy uninspiring BS for the next 2 years then! :trophy:

Arsenal FC :rose:

[I am invisible]

A 2 year deal is significant because he's always signed on for 4 years. Le Grove made an interesting observation about the new youth coach coming in and also a few other changes below the first team, with coaches being sought externally. Seems as though preparation has already begun for the post-Wenget era.

I want a change regardless of what happens in the cup final but 2 more years is not going to bother me considering I've been disillusioned for longer than that already. Plus we have some money and might win a trophy, so that's good at least for the short term.
Yeah, very interesting take on the subject from the guest writer on Le Grove today - made a lot of sense to me...

[Letters]

He is staying?! :banghead:

More tippy tappy uninspiring BS for the next 2 years then! :trophy:

Arsenal FC :rose:
:lol: You really should have seen Arsenal before Wenger came along, it was bloody awful at times.

Most of the moaning has been about us not winning trophies. We don't have any God given right to win them and it's definitely harder to do so now with the billionaires buying them up left, right and centre, but you'd expect a club at our level to do. Finally it looks like we'll get our grubby mitts on a major trophy so people are busily moving goalposts and finding other reasons to have a moan. As for the way we play, it's very good at times, not so good at others. But it's interesting how Wenger is being slaughtered for it while Mourinho's being hailed as a genius for his very expensive squad parking the bus and playing awful boring football.

[selassie]

I always thought he was going to stick around. I don't want him to but he's the manager of the club and I want us to win trophies so good luck to him.

[Niall_Quinn]

Well I want him to stay because it's far and away the best option for the club in general. Haven't seen a single name mentioned who's actually available and could do a better job. All pure speculation - running Arsenal is not the same as pubbing a few results for Palace or performing above expectation for Everton.

[Özim]

Well I want him to stay because it's far and away the best option for the club in general. Haven't seen a single name mentioned who's actually available and could do a better job. All pure speculation - running Arsenal is not the same as pubbing a few results for Palace or performing above expectation for Everton.

You don't know until you try, managers often move clubs even when contracted if the job appeals.

I guess a collapse and the beginning or end of season, 4th place and getting beaten in the last 16 of the CL is good enough then, that's what will happen, we already know.

After years of the same and pretty boring sh*t on the pitch, I personally would be happy to just have a change, something to freshen the stale air around the club and perhaps bring back excitement and anticipation.

[Niall_Quinn]

You don't know until you try, managers often move clubs even when contracted if the job appeals.

I guess a collapse and the beginning or end of season, 4th place and getting beaten in the last 16 of the CL is good enough then, that's what will happen, we already know.

After years of the same and pretty boring sh*t on the pitch, I personally would be happy to just have a change, something to freshen the stale air around the club and perhaps bring back excitement and anticipation.

No reason to try at the moment - we have what we need to push on. After a period of doubt it's now plain the club is serious about pumping in the investment so here we go.

[Letters]

After years of the same and pretty boring sh*t on the pitch, I personally would be happy to just have a change, something to freshen the stale air around the club and perhaps bring back excitement and anticipation.
The signing of Ozil started to do that IMO. Although there have been disappointments in this season (as any season will have, there are always ups and downs) an FA Cup win would set us up nicely for next season. The bid for Suarez and the signing of Ozil showed a new intent. We need more up front but if we get that in the summer (which is questionable whoever our manager is tbh) then we'll be well placed to push on next year.

Do you think 4th place and the FA Cup would be a bad season?

[Niall_Quinn]

The signing of Ozil started to do that IMO. Although there have been disappointments in this season (as any season will have, there are always ups and downs) an FA Cup win would set us up nicely for next season. The bid for Suarez and the signing of Ozil showed a new intent. We need more up front but if we get that in the summer (which is questionable whoever our manager is tbh) then we'll be well placed to push on next year.

Do you think 4th place and the FA Cup would be a bad season?

Bad in terms of making it harder to moan 24/7 - yes.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Well I want him to stay because it's far and away the best option for the club in general. Haven't seen a single name mentioned who's actually available and could do a better job. All pure speculation - running Arsenal is not the same as pubbing a few results for Palace or performing above expectation for Everton.

Exactly. If there were managers available then sure, but none of the top guys are because they've all recently moved clubs, whilst Klopp won't break a contract. Even lesser managers like Martinez aren't available as he's just moved clubs too so it really is too much of a risk to get rid this summer. 2 more years would lead to a much better managerial pool where we can go for one of the big boys.

[fakeyank]

:lol: You really should have seen Arsenal before Wenger came along, it was bloody awful at times.

Most of the moaning has been about us not winning trophies. We don't have any God given right to win them and it's definitely harder to do so now with the billionaires buying them up left, right and centre, but you'd expect a club at our level to do. Finally it looks like we'll get our grubby mitts on a major trophy so people are busily moving goalposts and finding other reasons to have a moan. As for the way we play, it's very good at times, not so good at others. But it's interesting how Wenger is being slaughtered for it while Mourinho's being hailed as a genius for his very expensive squad parking the bus and playing awful boring football.

I did follow Arsenal before Wenger came.. While I will admit that I wasnt able to follow them as vigorously as I do now, I still did. I did not think we played awesome football then but from what I can remember 20 years back (when I was 9), I felt that there was a positive intent to move the ball towards the opposition box and I never felt that an Arsenal player on the pitch didnt give 100%.
Why shouldnt people moan though? We have been humiliated multiple times this season (cant recall that happening with frequency like this before), our football is dire and we are still in with the 4th place trophy. While we have a very realistic chance of winning a trophy, we havent won it yet. While it'll be great to finally win a trophy after almost a decade, I think that will just be a basis to stick with Wenger... and that I think is the worst way forward for Arsenal FC. Even if we win the FA cup, I see nothing this season that has shown that we as a football team are moving forward.

How many more seasons of folding over are you ready to see? The last decent Arsenal played in 07/08. After that, we just have a bunch of rollovers in the mold of the manager- Toothless and average.

[Letters]

20 years ago, 1993/4. Pretty much the peak of boring boring Arsenal. As for the players always giving 100%, we were very much a Cup team around then and there were plenty of league games where their minds were clearly elsewhere - in the preceding season we won both domestic cups but were awful in the league, we were only 7 points off the relegation zone that year. 93/94 was better but look at the results:

http://www.statto.com/football/teams/arsenal/1993-1994/results

It was the year of the 4 0-0s in a row (a record Graham equaled while at Spurs!) which was followed by a loss and there's another run of 5 draws in a row.

There are certainly some reasons for moaning but don't look back with rose-tinted glasses at the early 90s side, if you think the football is dire now then you have clearly forgotten just how bad it was in that era. 92/93 was my first year at Uni so, mercifully, I missed a lot of it but I remember parts of the season I was home and the games were just awful. My dad nearly gave up the season tickets that year it was so bad, it was only the end of the season where we won the trophies (again, in horribly boring fashion, they were awful Cup finals) which changed his mind.

Our football isn't the scintillating stuff of the Invincibles, no, but if you're going to compare every Arsenal side to that level then look forward to a lifetime of disappointment. That really was an exceptional side and is unlikely to be equalled.


Even if we win the FA cup, I see nothing this season that has shown that we as a football team are moving forward.

Surely that would be the sign that we're moving forward?! For years we've been rightly criticized for crumbling under pressure. People cherry pick league results to show that's been true this year but pretty much all games have pressure on them and we've won plenty of games when under pressure this year, no less so than the cup semi-final when, poor as we were, we held our nerve in the shootout. We are a better side this year than last. We need more up front and more depth generally but we are going in the right direction IMO. It's clear the difference Ramsey makes, I don't think we'd have won the title had he stayed fit but we'd have been a lot closer.

The bid for Suarez and the signing of Ozil last summer showed a new ambition. We might be about to finally end our trophy drought. If we do then I'm not convinced that's a good time to be sacking the manager although I do think we need to start preparing for the change as it's going to happen fairly soon anyway.

[Özim]

20 years ago, 1993/4. Pretty much the peak of boring boring Arsenal. As for the players always giving 100%, we were very much a Cup team around then and there were plenty of league games where their minds were clearly elsewhere - in the preceding season we won both domestic cups but were awful in the league, we were only 7 points off the relegation zone that year. 93/94 was better but look at the results:

http://www.statto.com/football/teams/arsenal/1993-1994/results

It was the year of the 4 0-0s in a row (a record Graham equaled while at Spurs!) which was followed by a loss and there's another run of 5 draws in a row.

What you failed to say is that we sacrificed league results for the cups that year, we rested quite a few players in the league, nobody gave a toss about 4th place (rightly so) then so if you weren't going to be in the title hunt you would sacrifice league results.

[Letters]

What you failed to say is that we sacrificed league results for the cups that year, we rested quite a few players in the league.

Yes. But these days that isn't an option. The top 4 has become too important.
We agree that the top 4 is an artificial construct but it is what it is and a mid-table finish for the sake of a Cup wouldn't be tolerated these days.

[Özim]

Yes. But these days that isn't an option. The top 4 has become too important.
We agree that the top 4 is an artificial construct but it is what it is and a mid-table finish for the sake of a Cup wouldn't be tolerated these days.

That's true, I was just putting those poor results in context, the reason we did so badly in the league that season was our success in two cups. The football was great it's true, but the determination, desire and will to win and our ability to upset the odds gave the games a certain edge of your seat quality, I don't think I've felt that for years because with the current teams you accept you have no chance of upsetting the odds. This predictability takes a lot of enjoyment away IMO.

[Letters]

There's such a fine line in football. The Cup runs in 92/93 were brilliant but we only remember them that way because we won, that season could well have gone a different way.
We have to win the Cup this year. A trophy is long overdue. I can see a case for Wenger leaving either way but I think there's a pretty good case for him being allowed to stay and build on it if we win it.
I think he probably will no matter what you and I think anyway!

[Dein-machine]

Well - its good news for City, Chelsea & Liverpool - we're the team they all use to get their goal average up.

[Letters]

:rolleyes:

[I am invisible]

I'm probably one of the few people who would have been fine with this either way - I think Wenger is probably coming to the end now, and that it's time we started considering other options, but I also still like the guy, and don't think it's the end of the world if he stays on for another couple of years.

IMO what we're seeing here is the beginning of us gradually transitioning him out, and I think that's probably the right call, even if it means another couple of years of more of the same. After nearly 2 decades in charge, Wenger is tied to nearly every part of this club - more areas than he ideally should be - and that's not something you can just tear out without making a mess. We need to gradually strip his role right back to that of a head coach again before we let him go (because that's what his successor will be), and we need to make sure any responsibilities (and power) he currently has that he shouldn't has been redistributed to other people (ideally new people, who are tied to the club and not loyal to one man). I think this process has already started, with the appointment of Jonker and a couple of other coaches (and the telling reshuffle of who's in charge at what age groups), and I suspect similar moves might be happening with whoever handles transfers, but we'll have to wait and see on that one.

But in the meantime, it looks like it's Wenger for two more years - if/when that contract gets signed, there's no choice but to get behind him and support him...

[selassie]

I'm probably one of the few people who would have been fine with this either way - I think Wenger is probably coming to the end now, and that it's time we started considering other options, but I also still like the guy, and don't think it's the end of the world if he stays on for another couple of years.

IMO what we're seeing here is the beginning of us gradually transitioning him out, and I think that's probably the right call, even if it means another couple of years of more of the same. After nearly 2 decades in charge, Wenger is tied to nearly every part of this club - more areas than he ideally should be - and that's not something you can just tear out without making a mess. We need to gradually strip his role right back to that of a head coach again before we let him go (because that's what his successor will be), and we need to make sure any responsibilities (and power) he currently has that he shouldn't has been redistributed to other people (ideally new people, who are tied to the club and not loyal to one man). I think this process has already started, with the appointment of Jonker and a couple of other coaches (and the telling reshuffle of who's in charge at what age groups), and I suspect similar moves might be happening with whoever handles transfers, but we'll have to wait and see on that one.

But in the meantime, it looks like it's Wenger for two more years - if/when that contract gets signed, there's no choice but to get behind him and support him...

:gp:

yeah, this is pretty much how I view it though with a slightly less rational head as I want him gone now. Saying that I don't think he will do us any harm being in charge for the next 2 years...I just don't believe we will make any real progress.

I am definitely coming round to the idea of a gradual handover of his duties which as you said seems to be happening now.

[Globalgunner]

I am worried because we seem to have stagnated as a club while every other major team is in transition and seeking to move forward. Each year it seems we fluke 4th place with one of the other teams, City, United, Chelsea or Pool having a lousy season. Like it or not the CL is what gives this club the little prestige it has left worldwide and losing out will not kill us as a club but it will empower another team to gain an advantage on us. 5 into 4 places just doesn't work. With Wenger sticking to his failed strategies I am afraid we will likely be the ones who will miss out.....Ergo the death of Arsenal as a superclub. Not that we really were anyway

[Gooner23]

:gp:

yeah, this is pretty much how I view it though with a slightly less rational head as I want him gone now. Saying that I don't think he will do us any harm being in charge for the next 2 years...I just don't believe we will make any real progress.

I am definitely coming round to the idea of a gradual handover of his duties which as you said seems to be happening now.

Also gets a :gp: from me as well.

I dont think 4th place and the FA Cup means he deserves to stay on, but I have never been in favour of him being forced out either. I was hoping he would decide to call it a day, but as that decision clearly hasnt been made yet we could end up in a bit of a mess if he were to be forced out. As mentioned above, their needs to be a clear and thought out succession plan. And with the board keen for him to stay on, it just doesnt sound like we're gearing up for a change.

That said I will go into the next couple of seasons with no real expectation of challenging for the league or CL, which is a shame.

[I am invisible]

That's the spirit! If you go into every season expecting nothing, then you can only be pleasantly surprised! It works for me anyway - I go to work every day thinking everyone is a total bastard except me, and I'm rarely let down...

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

at the start of the season winning a trophy would have been the improvement i sought for me to want him to continue with us, although my concern is that the apalling defeats to chelsea, city, liverpool and everton really make me question whether he can push on....that plus his outright refusal to sign a striker makes me more concerned that we will slip out of the top four with a rejuvenated liverpool and a man united side fresh from taking a season off.

[Letters]

at the start of the season winning a trophy would have been the improvement i sought for me to want him to continue with us, although my concern is that the apalling defeats to chelsea, city, liverpool and everton really make me question whether he can push on....that plus his outright refusal to sign a striker makes me more concerned that we will slip out of the top four with a rejuvenated liverpool and a man united side fresh from taking a season off.

I'm not sure it's fair to say he refused to. Top class strikers - players who would genuinely improve us - don't grow on trees. He tried to get Suarez last summer (I wonder how this season would have panned out had he succeeded) and it's rare for a real top signing to be made in January. It's bound to be top of the shopping list for this summer.

[selassie]

I'm not sure it's fair to say he refused to. Top class strikers - players who would genuinely improve us - don't grow on trees. He tried to get Suarez last summer (I wonder how this season would have panned out had he succeeded) and it's rare for a real top signing to be made in January. It's bound to be top of the shopping list for this summer.

He may not have directly refused to but he sure as hell made a complete mess of the situation. In a indirect way he did refuse to by not paying the "market value" for the strikers he was chasing.

I think if he didn't have history with screwing up deals over his "valuations" then he would have been given a lot of leeway last summer.

To go two seasons with only 1 senior striker at the club is simply not acceptable, it wouldn't happen at any other top 4 club. The sad thing is our senior striker isn't really good enough to start for us either.

[Alpha]

A change of manager will not guarantee immediate success . Wenger is one of the top 5 managers in the world and we must be lucky to have him . Should he decide to leave , Real Madrid , Barcelona , Paris Saint-Germain , even the two Manchester teams will go for him and have a laugh at us and mock us .
What is really needed is a change of philosophy within our team . At Highbury , Arsene was a hot and winner manager . With the Emirates projet , everything suddenly change . Even with that , he manage to maintain the team at a respectable level with a restricted budget .
The question we should probably ask is whether we have done enough financially or not to alleviate our debts in order to start spending like any other team with big ambitions . Wenger staying should be a good move for Arsenal and not a bad one as few are tempted to think .

[Dein-machine]

A change of manager will not guarantee immediate success . Wenger is one of the top 5 managers in the world and we must be lucky to have him . Should he decide to leave , Real Madrid , Barcelona , Paris Saint-Germain , even the two Manchester teams will go for him and have a laugh at us and mock us .
What is really needed is a change of philosophy within our team . At Highbury , Arsene was a hot and winner manager . With the Emirates projet , everything suddenly change . Even with that , he manage to maintain the team at a respectable level with a restricted budget .
The question we should probably ask is whether we have done enough financially or not to alleviate our debts in order to start spending like any other team with big ambitions . Wenger staying should be a good move for Arsenal and not a bad one as few are tempted to think .

Wenger has been a great manager for us but the key words are " has been". Not so sure the big European teams would go for him because they all realise that success in modern football is linked far too heavily on spending big, which Wenger doesn't do. For example if he were manager of Real would they have spent £90 mill on Bale, if he was manager of PSG would they have the players thye have today - doubt it. Nobody expects us to compete with the Chavs or Gypos on overall spend but Wenger still believes players should want & feel privilaged to come to Arsenal - Why?. We haven't competed with the top Euro teams for years & we have a regular struggle to finish 4th every year in England. For this reason he still thinks offering £10 mill less than asking price is clever & that player power will swing things - it won't. The big clubs don't haggle over £10 mill, if they need that kind of player, they get him - the repercussions of not getting that player far outweigh the £10 mill.

[selassie]

Wenger has been a great manager for us but the key words are " has been". Not so sure the big European teams would go for him because they all realise that success in modern football is linked far too heavily on spending big, which Wenger doesn't do. For example if he were manager of Real would they have spent £90 mill on Bale, if he was manager of PSG would they have the players thye have today - doubt it. Nobody expects us to compete with the Chavs or Gypos on overall spend but Wenger still believes players should want & feel privilaged to come to Arsenal - Why?. We haven't competed with the top Euro teams for years & we have a regular struggle to finish 4th every year in England. For this reason he still thinks offering £10 mill less than asking price is clever & that player power will swing things - it won't. The big clubs don't haggle over £10 mill, if they need that kind of player, they get him - the repercussions of not getting that player far outweigh the £10 mill.

:gp:

[Alpha]

Wenger has been a great manager for us but the key words are " has been". Not so sure the big European teams would go for him because they all realise that success in modern football is linked far too heavily on spending big, which Wenger doesn't do. For example if he were manager of Real would they have spent £90 mill on Bale, if he was manager of PSG would they have the players thye have today - doubt it. Nobody expects us to compete with the Chavs or Gypos on overall spend but Wenger still believes players should want & feel privilaged to come to Arsenal - Why?. We haven't competed with the top Euro teams for years & we have a regular struggle to finish 4th every year in England. For this reason he still thinks offering £10 mill less than asking price is clever & that player power will swing things - it won't. The big clubs don't haggle over £10 mill, if they need that kind of player, they get him - the repercussions of not getting that player far outweigh the £10 mill.
I don't think Madrid spending 80m on Bale has made any difference at least atm . Bale hasn't made Real Madrid any stronger than they were . It just demonstrated their punching power in the transfer market .
Anything in this life is a learning process . Wenger , despite his stubbornness , is not stupid . He learnt from his mistakes . Back in the day , he used to get rid of players reaching their thirties and it was working fine . But when his youth policy failed , he realised he was depriving his team of the experience of old players that they needed . Now he rarely let them go unless they are not good enough or want out themselves . His philosophy of not spending is nearly come to and end . Who would imagine one day Arsenal would spend on one player ( Ozil) more than what United and City have done ?
Wenger is still the right for the job for me , despite some frustrations .

[Dein-machine]

I don't think Madrid spending 80m on Bale has made any difference at least atm . Bale hasn't made Real Madrid any stronger than they were . It just demonstrated their punching power in the transfer market .
Anything in this life is a learning process . Wenger , despite his stubbornness , is not stupid . He learnt from his mistakes . Back in the day , he used to get rid of players reaching their thirties and it was working fine . But when his youth policy failed , he realised he was depriving his team of the experience of old players that they needed . Now he rarely let them go unless they are not good enough or want out themselves . His philosophy of not spending is nearly come to and end . Who would imagine one day Arsenal would spend on one player ( Ozil) more than what United and City have done ?
Wenger is still the right for the job for me , despite some frustrations .

"he learnt from his mistakes" - if ever a person is proved to continually year after year to NOT learn from his mistakes its Wenger. The Ozil signing in my mind was desperation after the Villa result & the backlash he got from the fans after another Summer of disaster in the transfer window. If we had won the Villa game, I doubt we'd have signed Ozil. Remember after the 8-2 against United, same thing went out & bought 3 players, desperation - this is after the season has started!. He NEVER learns from his mistakes because in his own mind, he never makes them.

[Power n Glory]

He doesn't learn. From Le Grove regarding injuries.


INJURIES

Some Wenger quotes:

“Traditionally November has not been a good month for us, but I explain that by the fact we had more injuries, it is the first period when they kick in.” Nov 09

“We have analysed absolutely everything. It’s strange because the more injuries you get, you then seem to get even more because you always play the same players. Also, you rush some players back and then you have more chance to get them injured again.” Jan 10

“We got the injury of Cesc, which was the consequence of a bad tackle. The injury of Ramsey is the consequence of a bad tackle, the injury of Gibbs is the consequence of a bad tackle. We got hit hard. Once you get a few injuries you cannot rotate any more and the players like Vermaelen, who is injured now” Apr 10

“Overall, if you look at all the numbers, ours are not much more. What we have more is long-term injuries than others clubs but they are down to bad luck and bad tackling. Or they were picked up with the national team. Also once you have had an injury there are more chances to be injured again.” Oct 10

“We know now that a large percentage of players who play a lot of games between the ages of 18 and 21 have bony stress responses. I never expected the number to be so high. It happens because your skeleton is not completely finished and the bones are not completely developed to absorb the kinds of shocks you get in the Premier League.” Mar 12

“Statistically, you will lose one or two during these international breaks. This time we lost Koscielny [and] Walcott. Everybody else came back [without injury]. This is the period where you start to have injuries.” Oct 12

“Some of them [muscle injuries] are down to the medication that the players take that you don’t even know about. Then you realise afterwards that they took this medication but that’s not prudent. [..] If you lose your hair and you’ve taken something to make your hair grow, it might not be good, especially for the rest of your body,” Apr 14

So, there you have it. Injuries are down a natural consequence of the calendar; injuries breed more injuries; bad tackling by the opposition; inability to rotate; they aren’t really that bad; bad-luck; the national-team; over playing-youth; international breaks and, urm, medical & hair supplements. Never coaching or training methods. Nope. Never. I digress; to surmise, they are all external factors outside of his control. Fair enough- at least he has absolute clarity and conviction on what the causes are.

“I am concerned that this happens. We are analysing very deeply why it happened and to see if there is a link between all these injuries. For Walcott it’s completely bad luck. Wilshere – I don’t think it is linked with the other injuries, it’s more linked with his history and the kick he got. But the rest, maybe we have to find why it happened.” Asked whether he would review his training and medical procedures, Wenger said he would assess “everything”. “It’s very difficult to find any obvious reason why. Why? I don’t know.” Mar 14

Problem after problem with injuries and we're still talking about luck? We knew we had key players missing before the January transfer window and did nothing about it. We say now that we're doing an investigation but we've said this before and nothing has changed.

[Özim]

This is the biggest problem with Wenger throughout the years, never learning from mistakes/past problems.

If he did things wouldn't be half as frustrating as they are, he seems to rely on players just improving naturally to fix any problems.

[Özim]

He doesn't learn. From Le Grove regarding injuries.



Problem after problem with injuries and we're still talking about luck? We knew we had key players missing before the January transfer window and did nothing about it. We say now that we're doing an investigation but we've said this before and nothing has changed.

We're not going to go anywhere if he thinks injuries are the issue and that the injuries are just down to luck.

[Özim]

A change of manager will not guarantee immediate success . Wenger is one of the top 5 managers in the world and we must be lucky to have him . Should he decide to leave , Real Madrid , Barcelona , Paris Saint-Germain , even the two Manchester teams will go for him and have a laugh at us and mock us .
What is really needed is a change of philosophy within our team . At Highbury , Arsene was a hot and winner manager . With the Emirates projet , everything suddenly change . Even with that , he manage to maintain the team at a respectable level with a restricted budget .
The question we should probably ask is whether we have done enough financially or not to alleviate our debts in order to start spending like any other team with big ambitions . Wenger staying should be a good move for Arsenal and not a bad one as few are tempted to think .

He's not top 5, doesn't even make top 10, all the below are better managers:

Mourinho
Ancellotti
Guardiola
Heynckes
Lippi
Del Bosque
Fabio Capello
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Cruyff
Simeone
Jurgen Klopp

[Dein-machine]

He's not top 5, doesn't even make top 10, all the below are better managers:

Mourinho
Ancellotti
Guardiola
Heynckes
Lippi
Del Bosque
Fabio Capello
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Cruyff
Simeone
Jurgen Klopp

Come on Zim - you could have said top 11 - how can you not put Neil Warnock in

[Globalgunner]

Don`t forget Madrid have been after Big Sam for years

[Özim]

Don`t forget Madrid have been after Big Sam for years

He's never gone out of loyalty for the club he was with, West Ham, Blackburn and Bolton fans owe him their lives.