Very good debate here. I can see both sides, really. One the one hand, Wenger will have very far-sighted ideas about how the game should be played - and its testament to his genius in this respect that he is regarded as one of the games greatest developmental managers, and still manages to achievetop four football despite his shortcomings.

But on the other hand, he is over philosophical, and ignores the basics. I've said before that he makes the game harder than it should be. And that permeates so many aspects of our game - our apparent disdain for set-pieces; failure to shoot from distance; lack of set up for how other teams play etc. What's more, I think that he is obsessed about development of individual players' technical skills - while at the same time often neglecting how we function as a team.

It is frustrating, because surely the 'easier' aspects of the game would neither detract from, nor be a massive burden on top of the things that the manager does well.

And in the context of the tread title, where does that leave us? Could another manager who does do the basics but doesn't have AW's genius at finding/developing cheap talent keep us where we are? Because as Dalglish; Redknapp; AVB and successive Chelsea managers have shown - its not an easy trick to pull off.

From where I'm standing, much as its eay to find fault in what he does - few if any managers would be able to achieve what Wenger does on a similar budget. So it might be a stark choice - stagnation at best. Inexorable decline at worst.