Winter Transfer Despair and Bafflement.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

:haha:

---

:lol: As if the guy would even consider coming here, maybe we should bid for their entire 1st team to scare Man City off, especially as we don't want to sell......until the summer when we can't.

Wenger is footballs most cringeworthy joke, Sanchez is going whether he likes it or not, would personally let them have him in January if they want him, we might get a bag of nuts and a diet coke in return at least, Sanchez has no interest in playing for us, you can see that, we'd save ourselves 6 months worth of wages as well, no point keeping some guy who's made it clear both on and off the pitch he doesn't want to be here.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice

A player he should have signed about 15 years ago......

:rolleyes:

---

We were linked with him way before he went to City. No idea why we never went for him despite being desperate for quality in that area.

Kompany is past it. Can’t see what he brings to the table now that even a fading Koscielny doesn’t already.

We should have let those new transfer guys start in January.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

We were linked with him way before he went to City. No idea why we never went for him despite being desperate for quality in that area.

---

Probably for the best anyway. Would have turned into a clown in our defence and destroyed his career.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice

A player he should have signed about 15 years ago......

:rolleyes:

---

These things take time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Globalgunner

That would be doing City 2 favours...getting rid of junk and signing a class player for peanuts. Wenger could let them have Sanches plus money in exchange for Tweety bird

---

His injury record suits us though - can't deny that.

Caveat - these stories are coming from the Daily Star. A "paper" that has no problem making shit up out of thin air.

But it does sound a lot like Wenger. Fail to do what needs to be done in the summer. The panic mid season and thrash about for any option that presents itself, provided nobody else wants the players and it's a stopgap solution at best.

What he's done here is cost the club 50 mill transfer fee when he decide to hang onto Alexis even though there obviously was no indication the player would stay. We've also been paying Alexis' wages since then, so that's another loss when you consider his form has gone down the pan most likely due to the uncertainty of his situation. And, as he does, Wenger pissed off both the gypos and the player with his last minute antics on transfer deadline day. As fuck ups go, this is a slam dunk. Nobody fucks up the transfer window like Wenger.

The sick joke is, that 50 mill would have secured Lemar early in the window. And if we'd have signed Lemar, essentially as a swap for Alexis and probab;y on lower wages than Alexis would have demanded to stay, we'd still have had a budget to go and sign some more genuine talent. This could have been enough to entice Ozil to stay. Instead we fucked around pretending to chase Mbappe after we''d already fucked him off the year before because Wenger wouldn't pay the agent.

This man is unspeakable. It hurts my head how a supposed businessman like Kroenke would allow this guy to run his primary asset. Yeah, Wenger helped build that asset value in the early days - something nice for Stan to take advantage of - but if Wenger is allowed to carry on Stan might just see that value starting to descend into the shitter. How long can the myth of Wenger prevail before everyone starts looking for the exit? Fans, players, backroom staff and... shareholders. If Usmanov decides he's had enough and sells up then he's the guy artificially propping the share price through his desperation to be involved. Would anyone else be looking to pay big money for shares in a club that is being turned into a clown show by the master clown Wenger?

Mikel Arteta is being lined up as a future Arsenal manager as the Gunners plan for life after Arsene Wenger. (Daily Telegraph)

:lol: Merry Christmas everyone!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dumbledore

Mikel Arteta is being lined up as a future Arsenal manager as the Gunners plan for life after Arsene Wenger. (Daily Telegraph)

:lol: Merry Christmas everyone!

---

Obviously we want a big name, but tell me after spending eighteen months with Pep....tell me you wouldn’t take him over Wenger right now?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

Obviously we want a big name, but tell me after spending eighteen months with Pep....tell me you wouldn’t take him over Wenger right now?

---

I would take the City head groundsman over our dated dunce.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

Obviously we want a big name, but tell me after spending eighteen months with Pep....tell me you wouldn’t take him over Wenger right now?

---

Absolutely not.

Wenger might be a dinosaur but you'd be mad to hire a guy with zero experience. That would be a gigantic risk and jeopardise the future of our club, rubber stamping our demise into mediocrity.

Just because he works under Pep doesn't mean jack sh*t. Paul Clement was Ancelotti's 2nd man for donkeys years and look at how his management career has panned out.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

Obviously we want a big name, but tell me after spending eighteen months with Pep....tell me you wouldn’t take him over Wenger right now?

---

I'd take me over Wenger right now. Arteta would be great. If he works out, great. If he doesn't, well don't let him stay for 20 years! Fire him.

Just getting a new manager - any new manager - would break the Wenger eternity curse and put us back into the real world of performance. When managers perform they stay, when they don't they get sacked. Like any normal club.

Sign Arteta today. What are we waiting for?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dumbledore

We're in for David Luiz apparently :lol:

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/fo....co/ZewaLAJz41

Would be a disaster under nutty professor.

---

Lovely stuff, can you imagine David Luiz in our defence? :haha:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

We were linked with him way before he went to City. No idea why we never went for him despite being desperate for quality in that area.

---

Dithering Wenger?

He went to City for 6 million.

If Pep sees something in him that’s enough to consider he might be a pretty good fit at some point in his coaching career. He was well regarded here and I remember reading a lot of reports that some at the club weren’t pleased he was allowed to cut his teeth at City.

For now though, we need someone with a bit more profile. I’m all for taking a gamble but it has to be an educated one as well and Arteta is too much of a punt.

You lot are batshit crazy. I know Wenger is an absolutely useless buffoon that drives us all mad but you'd be willing to take a massive risk and hire any man and his dog to replace him? Someone like Arteta? You're letting the guy skew your thinking to ridiculously abnormal levels. Pull yourselves together man.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

We were linked with him way before he went to City. No idea why we never went for him despite being desperate for quality in that area.

---

We like to make sure they're good before we sign them, that way we can then turn round and say we almost signed them once we have no chance of ever getting them.

there's been plenty of players over the years we've been linked with who were highly rated and we never moved for, we just don't seem interested in signing highly touted players, we always chose to sign the more unknown types which is odd really, probably an ego thing and wanting to be the person that discovered them or something.

Had you had a normal manager in charge we'd probaby have ended up with some of these guys instead of the trash we bought.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dumbledore

You lot are batshit crazy. I know Wenger is an absolutely useless buffoon that drives us all mad but you'd be willing to take a massive risk and hire any man and his dog to replace him? Someone like Arteta? You're letting the guy skew your thinking to ridiculously abnormal levels. Pull yourselves together man.

---

I’d rather go for someone young and ambitious than the plethora of recycled average managers that do the rounds like Pulis, Pardew, Hughes, Allardyce, Moyes etc.

I think someone like Arteta could be the head coach of a large coaching team rather than the micromanagement we have currently. It’s definitely a big risk and it would be far, far from my first choice. But definitely more open to it than I was a year ago, Wenger is a slow rot and the longer he stays the less any other choice becomes a significant risk.

And as NQ points out, any guy that comes after Wenger will be sacked if they don’t cut the mustard because there isn’t the deference that they have towards Wenger

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

We were linked with him way before he went to City. No idea why we never went for him despite being desperate for quality in that area.

---

He did his usual song and dance of bideing his time until someone else actually took the risk and slapped some cash down.

Kompany has been the butt of a lot of NQ's jokes but he's easily been one of the best CB's in the world since he was a teenager and is one of the most respectful non Arsenal players about Arsenal you'll find. He would have taken all the traditions and values of the club well on board.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dumbledore

Absolutely not.

Wenger might be a dinosaur but you'd be mad to hire a guy with zero experience. That would be a gigantic risk and jeopardise the future of our club, rubber stamping our demise into mediocrity.

Just because he works under Pep doesn't mean jack sh*t. Paul Clement was Ancelotti's 2nd man for donkeys years and look at how his management career has panned out.

---

Agree with this. We’re in a position where we can’t afford the risk.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by selassie

Lovely stuff, can you imagine David Luiz in our defence? :haha:

---

Unfortunately, yes I can.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice

He did his usual song and dance of bideing his time until someone else actually took the risk and slapped some cash down.

Kompany has been the butt of a lot of NQ's jokes but he's easily been one of the best CB's in the world since he was a teenager and is one of the most respectful non Arsenal players about Arsenal you'll find. He would have taken all the traditions and values of the club well on board.

---

tbf, if he'd joined us instead I would have heaped praise on him. But he didn't, he joined the gypos. So turns out I was right.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

Unfortunately, yes I can.

---

Gets sent off a lot
Always out of position
Wants to be a CF
Can pass sideways and punt one long

Perfect for us.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

Agree with this. We’re in a position where we can’t afford the risk.

---

Risk?

We're risking the whole club with this clown in charge of things. Look at the fuck-ups he's making, over and over again. We can't even get a settled team or system under him. The transfer windows are pure comedy. He shows no indication he has any clues on how to pull us out of this dive. He can't see he's even wrong, he continues to think of himself as a big force in football - he said as much the other day when he was slapping backhanded compliments at the new guys coming in.

The biggest risk of all is keeping this loon for another day, let alone another season. There's NOTHING while he's here.

Di Matteo came in and won the CL. Not because he's the greatest coach that ever walked the earth - plainly he's not. But because he liberated a decent squad and did the common sense, blatantly obvious things. He applied what limited coaching knowledge he had and, no doubt, used the experience around him to build an environment that allowed the players to thrive and achieve at the highest level.

There are plenty of people who could come in and unlock the potential in our squad. Provided they weren't expected to pick up every thread that egomaniac Wenger demands to have a hold of. Leave the transfers to the new guys. The running of the club to the CEO. And get the coach out on the training ground with a decent staff to focus on the football.

Of course Arteta would be a better bet than Wenger. Are you kidding me? He knows the basics, what more do we need at this point? We have to put an end to this Wenger business, that's the absolute priority. Arteta knows the club, he's been getting experience under a coach that knows what he's doing, he'd be a perfectly reasonable stopgap while we found the right man for the job long term. Trouble is, Arteta would know that too so he wouldn't come here anyway.

But theoretically, for sure, sack Wenger today and get Arteta in. The whole place would be transformed overnight. The fans wouldn't know what to do with themselves, watching players play in their correct positions, seeing proper tactics, watching sensible substitutions and not having to watch an old goat stick his nose into and wreck transfer windows. It's be like Christmas every weekend.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LDG

Gets sent off a lot
Always out of position
Wants to be a CF
Can pass sideways and punt one long

Perfect for us.

---

He's got stupider hair than Bellerin. It would kill Bellerin's hair if we signed him.

Quote:

---

One of his first challenges as manager was to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League. In a bid to do so, he made four changes to the side beaten in Italy, recalling John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien to the starting line-up. It was a move that worked wonders as Lampard and Terry both scored, along with Didier Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic, and Chelsea won a sensational game 4-1 in extra-time.


“I selected a group of players with a lot of experience, who were comfortable playing with each other,” explains Di Matteo. “It was one of those nights that will be remembered as one of the greatest European nights at Chelsea.”


While the odds were stacked against Chelsea that night, Terry says the arrival of Di Matteo had given the Blues the lift they needed at the right time.

---

Di Matteo, overturning a 3-1 deficit to Napoli in the CL. His first challenge.

http://www.skysports.com/football/ne...teo-at-chelsea

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

Risk?

We're risking the whole club with this clown in charge of things. Look at the fuck-ups he's making, over and over again. We can't even get a settled team or system under him. The transfer windows are pure comedy. He shows no indication he has any clues on how to pull us out of this dive. He can't see he's even wrong, he continues to think of himself as a big force in football - he said as much the other day when he was slapping backhanded compliments at the new guys coming in.

The biggest risk of all is keeping this loon for another day, let alone another season. There's NOTHING while he's here.

Di Matteo came in and won the CL. Not because he's the greatest coach that ever walked the earth - plainly he's not. But because he liberated a decent squad and did the common sense, blatantly obvious things. He applied what limited coaching knowledge he had and, no doubt, used the experience around him to build an environment that allowed the players to thrive and achieve at the highest level.

There are plenty of people who could come in and unlock the potential in our squad. Provided they weren't expected to pick up every thread that egomaniac Wenger demands to have a hold of. Leave the transfers to the new guys. The running of the club to the CEO. And get the coach out on the training ground with a decent staff to focus on the football.

Of course Arteta would be a better bet than Wenger. Are you kidding me? He knows the basics, what more do we need at this point? We have to put an end to this Wenger business, that's the absolute priority. Arteta knows the club, he's been getting experience under a coach that knows what he's doing, he'd be a perfectly reasonable stopgap while we found the right man for the job long term. Trouble is, Arteta would know that too so he wouldn't come here anyway.

But theoretically, for sure, sack Wenger today and get Arteta in. The whole place would be transformed overnight. The fans wouldn't know what to do with themselves, watching players play in their correct positions, seeing proper tactics, watching sensible substitutions and not having to watch an old goat stick his nose into and wreck transfer windows. It's be like Christmas every weekend.

---

Calm down, calm down. That's not me saying we can't afford to risk a change of management. That's me saying we can't just pick anyone and give someone their first job. If we finish outside of the Top 4 again and then appoint a manager that has no draw and has players around the world questioning our ambition, we're going to be in serious trouble. We're not Barca or Madrid. We can't spend our way out of trouble and we don't have enough talented players here to just hand the job to someone and expect them to do a Pep or Zidane.

Edit - We don't have a decent squad. Not now and not by the time Wenger leaves.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

Calm down, calm down. That's not me saying we can't afford to risk a change of management. That's me saying we can't just pick anyone and give someone their first job. If we finish outside of the Top 4 again and then appoint a manager that has no draw and has players around the world questioning our ambition, we're going to be in serious trouble. We're not Barca or Madrid. We can't spend our way out of trouble and we don't have enough talented players here to just hand the job to someone and expect them to do a Pep or Zidane.

Edit - We don't have a decent squad. Not now and not by the time Wenger leaves.

---

We have a better squad than Wenger makes them look. A new coach might, for example, work with defenders on defending. Or work with midfielders on how not to pretend to be strikers. Or work with wide players on how to go forwards instead of backwards. Many possibilities.

Our reputation? Alexis and Ozil are clawing the door with bloody fingernails trying to get out. The club is either being laughed at or pitied.

Our ambition? We could scoop a turd out of the bowl and smear it across the dugout and it would show more ambition than letting a senile old goat see out his days because he once knew what he was doing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

I’d rather go for someone young and ambitious than the plethora of recycled average managers that do the rounds like Pulis, Pardew, Hughes, Allardyce, Moyes etc.

I think someone like Arteta could be the head coach of a large coaching team rather than the micromanagement we have currently. It’s definitely a big risk and it would be far, far from my first choice. But definitely more open to it than I was a year ago, Wenger is a slow rot and the longer he stays the less any other choice becomes a significant risk.

And as NQ points out, any guy that comes after Wenger will be sacked if they don’t cut the mustard because there isn’t the deference that they have towards Wenger

---

I agree someone young and ambitious would be good but that doesn't mean Arteta. And why are you referring to managers like Pulis, Pardew and Allardyce? They are clearly levels below us and would never be at the helm here.

We are a top club (albeit more of a sleeping giant), we have a fairly young squad, flashy new stadium, decent training facilities.. managers would love to be in an environment like that.

Allegri's closest advisor last season said Allegri would like the chance to manage Arsenal because of those factors. Ancelotti has also said it in the past. So don't be so quick to put us down.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

Risk?

We're risking the whole club with this clown in charge of things. Look at the fuck-ups he's making, over and over again. We can't even get a settled team or system under him. The transfer windows are pure comedy. He shows no indication he has any clues on how to pull us out of this dive. He can't see he's even wrong, he continues to think of himself as a big force in football - he said as much the other day when he was slapping backhanded compliments at the new guys coming in.

The biggest risk of all is keeping this loon for another day, let alone another season. There's NOTHING while he's here.

Di Matteo came in and won the CL. Not because he's the greatest coach that ever walked the earth - plainly he's not. But because he liberated a decent squad and did the common sense, blatantly obvious things. He applied what limited coaching knowledge he had and, no doubt, used the experience around him to build an environment that allowed the players to thrive and achieve at the highest level.

There are plenty of people who could come in and unlock the potential in our squad. Provided they weren't expected to pick up every thread that egomaniac Wenger demands to have a hold of. Leave the transfers to the new guys. The running of the club to the CEO. And get the coach out on the training ground with a decent staff to focus on the football.

Of course Arteta would be a better bet than Wenger. Are you kidding me? He knows the basics, what more do we need at this point? We have to put an end to this Wenger business, that's the absolute priority. Arteta knows the club, he's been getting experience under a coach that knows what he's doing, he'd be a perfectly reasonable stopgap while we found the right man for the job long term. Trouble is, Arteta would know that too so he wouldn't come here anyway.

But theoretically, for sure, sack Wenger today and get Arteta in. The whole place would be transformed overnight. The fans wouldn't know what to do with themselves, watching players play in their correct positions, seeing proper tactics, watching sensible substitutions and not having to watch an old goat stick his nose into and wreck transfer windows. It's be like Christmas every weekend.

---

NQ I love you. But you have lost the plot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

Calm down, calm down. That's not me saying we can't afford to risk a change of management. That's me saying we can't just pick anyone and give someone their first job. If we finish outside of the Top 4 again and then appoint a manager that has no draw and has players around the world questioning our ambition, we're going to be in serious trouble. We're not Barca or Madrid. We can't spend our way out of trouble and we don't have enough talented players here to just hand the job to someone and expect them to do a Pep or Zidane.

Edit - We don't have a decent squad. Not now and not by the time Wenger leaves.

---

We need Ancellotti or someone of his ilk to steady the ship and rebuild the squad...whoever comes in needs to bring in young talented players though, not projects, players who have genuine star quality.

Make no mistake, whoever takes up the post after Wenger leaves has a helluva job on their hands, the lack of quality in the squad is evident but the whole mentality of this football team needs changing, the new guy needs to demand and set a standard that "winning IS EVERYTHING".

We need to rid of Wenger's "loser/anything goes mentality"

I don't agree with this idea that absolutely anyone can come in and do a better job. We should be going for a young and ambitious manager I agree, but that should mean someone in the ilk of Jardim.

We need someone with charisma and proven experience. Someone that captures the imagination of the players so that they adhere to him. Look at how the Utd players reacted to Moyes; they dismissed him and undermined him. He wasn't able to motivate them.

If we go for a completely left wing appointment like Arteta I'd be seriously worried. The completely left wing / risky candidate should be someone like Howe; someone that has experience of management and has some sort of pedigree. Not Arteta.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

We have a better squad than Wenger makes them look. A new coach might, for example, work with defenders on defending. Or work with midfielders on how not to pretend to be strikers. Or work with wide players on how to go forwards instead of backwards. Many possibilities.

Our reputation? Alexis and Ozil are clawing the door with bloody fingernails trying to get out. The club is either being laughed at or pitied.

Our ambition? We could scoop a turd out of the bowl and smear it across the dugout and it would show more ambition than letting a senile old goat see out his days because he once knew what he was doing.

---

That's as it stands. What about next year once we've lost Alexis and Ozil and whoever else? What about when we're left with Wilshere, Welbeck and Iwobi? Not a chance!

The next manager has to be someone that can inspire some sort of hope and someone that can get us back on track quickly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

That's as it stands. What about next year once we've lost Alexis and Ozil and whoever else? What about when we're left with Wilshere, Welbeck and Iwobi? Not a chance!

The next manager has to be someone that can inspire some sort of hope and someone that can get us back on track quickly.

---

Exactly. We've got a raft of players leaving over the next 2 years. It's a critical phase. An Arteta coming in would be the final bullet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

That's as it stands. What about next year once we've lost Alexis and Ozil and whoever else? What about when we're left with Wilshere, Welbeck and Iwobi? Not a chance!

The next manager has to be someone that can inspire some sort of hope and someone that can get us back on track quickly.

---

I don’t think there is a single player at this club who wouldn’t be a lot better under a new coaching regime

I don’t think the issue is so much whether Arteta would be a great risk free option. But we are getting to the point where Wenger is such a barrier to positive progress that the risk of appointing someone like Arteta over keeping Wenger is basically negligible.

I’d prefer someone with more reputation, but with reputation comes ego and what we need is someone who will work with a whole new team rather than someone who holds onto too many of the reigns himself. I agree with Vieira that someone like Jardim would be the kind of guy we should go for (or failing that Unai Emery who has fallen out of favour at PSG) or maybe if nothing else we could entice someone like Arteta to understudy an older head to take over in a few years.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by selassie

We need Ancellotti or someone of his ilk to steady the ship and rebuild the squad...whoever comes in needs to bring in young talented players though, not projects, players who have genuine star quality.

Make no mistake, whoever takes up the post after Wenger leaves has a helluva job on their hands, the lack of quality in the squad is evident but the whole mentality of this football team needs changing, the new guy needs to demand and set a standard that "winning IS EVERYTHING".

We need to rid of Wenger's "loser/anything goes mentality"

---

For sure. Unless word circulates that Arteta is an absolute beast behind the scenes, I just can’t see this being a good move. I heard he was one of the players everyone respected when he was our captain but his presence wasn’t enough where they were shit scared to put a foot wrong around him. As captain he didn’t command that sort of authority and coming back to Arsenal so quickly after leaving and for his first main job….nah.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie

I don’t think there is a single player at this club who wouldn’t be a lot better under a new coaching regime

I don’t think the issue is so much whether Arteta would be a great risk free option. But we are getting to the point where Wenger is such a barrier to positive progress that the risk of appointing someone like Arteta over keeping Wenger is basically negligible.

I’d prefer someone with more reputation, but with reputation comes ego and what we need is someone who will work with a whole new team rather than someone who holds onto too many of the reigns himself. I agree with Vieira that someone like Jardim would be the kind of guy we should go for (or failing that Unai Emery who has fallen out of favour at PSG) or maybe if nothing else we could entice someone like Arteta to understudy an older head to take over in a few years.

---

That's right, the ego thing could be a big problem. What we don't want post-Wenger is another my-way or nothing type character. The club will have to go through big changes. The manager's role will need to be downscaled. All of those responsibilities that Wenger grabbed and wouldn't let go of need to be reassigned to the proper people within the club. We're going to need a flexible person in such an environment. Our next manager could quite easily be a stopgap or a short-term appointment while all the transitions are made. Wenger has pretty much assured that this season and next are write-offs in terms of us competing for serious honours. So we should be using the dead time to get ready for 2019. Instead we have the old goat dragging the mediocrity out. Wasting valuable time, setting us back another year at least, probably two because a new guy will need time. Madness. Get him out and get somebody else in. If we can't arrange a big name in time then get anyone in. I'd lay a bet with anyone who wants to take it, no matter who we brought in they'd instantly improve this team, squad and our prospects. Of course they would. How could they not? They'd literally have to engage in sabotage to do a worse job.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Delusions of Grandeur

For sure. Unless word circulates that Arteta is an absolute beast behind the scenes, I just can’t see this being a good move. I heard he was one of the players everyone respected when he was our captain but his presence wasn’t enough where they were shit scared to put a foot wrong around him. As captain he didn’t command that sort of authority and coming back to Arsenal so quickly after leaving and for his first main job….nah.

---

We're talking theoretical - this was an article from the Daily Star. So it won't be happening. But I'd have no problems whatsoever if it did. I'd be leaping for joy and looking forward to watching the next match.

In reality we can do better than Arteta to replace Wenger, Luis Enrique and Ancelotti are available right now, and if only Wenger was pointedly shown the door at the end of this season, many more managers would make themselves available. Its just a mark of how desperate some of us feel that literally anyone would make us instantly better, simply because of Wengers continual barmy methods and totally insular behavior, another day of his stay is a day we slide further behind in the other clubs. If Steve Bould took over 2mrw we would see our prospects of finishing in the top 4 double in potential. As it is, we are in a race with Pool, Spuds for 4th, which i doubt we will win.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

That's right, the ego thing could be a big problem. What we don't want post-Wenger is another my-way or nothing type character. The club will have to go through big changes. The manager's role will need to be downscaled. All of those responsibilities that Wenger grabbed and wouldn't let go of need to be reassigned to the proper people within the club. We're going to need a flexible person in such an environment. Our next manager could quite easily be a stopgap or a short-term appointment while all the transitions are made. Wenger has pretty much assured that this season and next are write-offs in terms of us competing for serious honours. So we should be using the dead time to get ready for 2019. Instead we have the old goat dragging the mediocrity out. Wasting valuable time, setting us back another year at least, probably two because a new guy will need time. Madness. Get him out and get somebody else in. If we can't arrange a big name in time then get anyone in. I'd lay a bet with anyone who wants to take it, no matter who we brought in they'd instantly improve this team, squad and our prospects. Of course they would. How could they not? They'd literally have to engage in sabotage to do a worse job.

---

I think behind the scenes we are preparing for Wengers departure. We've hired a director of football albeit given him a different title... that in itself is huge! It's a massive sign that Gazidis is preparing for the old goats departure and ultimately much different to Ferguson's departure for example, where he practically announced it out the blue and they hadn't prepared. They're still seeing the ramifications to this day.

So I don't think there's a need for a stop gap. We can go for a top coach and reduce the responsibility of the new guy coming in. In fact aside from Wenger I can't think of another manager in Europe that operates like he does. He's the last of a dying breed. The likes of Jardim, Allegri etc are happy to work as head coach. There's no need for an Arteta.