Quote Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory View Post
Wenger is no longer the big fish in a small pond. In fact, the pond is now bigger and so are the fish. The flaws we now see in Wenger has always been there. Think back to those awful Champions League days with the old guard. We never performed well on the world stage and it's part of the reason Henry never won the World Player Award. The problem with discipline has always been there, think back to Anelka and the problems he had with our Dutch players, having to sell off key players...it's always been there.

Man City and Chelsea have played their roles, but in opinion, Wenger is limited as a coach and was bound to get exposed which is why he has always avoided going to a big club. He's content at this level. After his spell in France he decided to go to Japan instead of going to larger club. Bayern Munich once wanted him the French National team wanted him and he decided to go to the J League! Why? He's not that confident and it's probably why he surrounds himself with players that need work and not that arrogant. He has to raise his game now. The league never had so many strong teams and coaches when we were winning.
That's an interesting post. The last sentence is true but there's no doubt Wenger revolutionised the club with his training methods, fitness regime and knowledge of the worldwide game which meant he was able to bring in foreign players under the radar of other clubs. I've seen a lot of revisionism on here from some who, frustrated by the last few years, have claimed that what Wenger did back then wasn't that impressive. In the context of the way the game was at the time in this country, it was.
The problem is other clubs have caught up, he's lost that edge. Also the wages and transfer fees, fueled by billionaire sugar-daddies, have spiralled out of control right at a time when we were moving stadium which meant a certain belt tightening. And I think Wenger has been far too principled and while I agree that the money has got out of control in the modern game I think you have to play the game and join in. He's done well to keep us top 4 by building a young side, his methods have NOT been a complete failure. Where he's failed is to combine that with a few big buys which could have pushed us over the line and won us a few trophies. Frustrating. But he's not suddenly this bumbling idiot who doesn't have a clue what he's doing, we wouldn't have stayed top 4 were that so.