Do you still want Wenger as Arsenal manager?

[Letters]

It's not as if we're keeping elite managers at bay here. Our opponents have managers that have never won a league and don't know what it takes. Wenger is a double winner, he should be able to keep these guys at bay because these guys aren't on his level. But head to head against guys that have experienced the same sort of success, it doesn't look so good.

I'd say that's fairly reasonable, but the point is Wenger is at that level. Not many managers are.
People act on here as if he's this bumbling idiot. If we replace him then unless we get another manager at that level, and there aren't that many around, then it's not going to fix all our problems.

[Letters]

Jose did it the years he was here

Jose and his half a billion pounds. But yes, he is a top manager and capable of similar success. Not many are.

and yes, the time is coming. I was hearing on Fox Soccer Channel that up until 2005, we had never come below 2nd under AW but since then we have slowly slid down the table with 3rd and 4th positions

2005 was before Chelsea's money started to seriously have an effect, and now City are getting in on the act.

Do you see the steady decline?

No, because there isn't one. Or hasn't been one so far. We were lucky to finish 4th in the lasagna year, I'll give you that. But after that we got steadily better for a couple of years. Since then there has been decline again and last season we were about where we were in 2006. So it's not been a steady decline, it's been stagnation. If you drew a graph from 2006 to 2001 it would be flatline (with a slight improvement in the middle). There has NOT been a steady decline.

That said we are very weak this season and I do think this could be the year when we finish outside the top 4. Which brings us back to the transfer dealings this summer and whether that is entirely Wenger's fault or whether the board have a hand in it too. I suspect they do, and I seriously doubt Wenger can't see the obvious flaws in the squad that you and I can see.

As for other managers evolving, to an extent other clubs have caught up with training methods, diet and worldwide scouting. But the sides who will finish in the top 3 this year have thrown silly money around. That isn't evolving or catching up, the fact that City are where they are shows you can do it with any team.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I don't think saving a few million in transfers here and there would have impacted on the finances we needed to move grounds, secondly yes Wenger has helped change the infrastructure of the club for the better but I say so what?...he's not Atlas holding up the world......the club would continue without him, Arsene Wenger is not Arsenal he serves at the pleasure of the club. Success in business as well in football comes with ruthlessness, you wouldn't hesitate to move on a player who had been pinnacle to the success of the club if he was no longer able to hack it.

Instead of saying Wenger is directly linked to profit, I should have said he is the root of all of the profit we make.

The stadium move was down to his brilliance in the transfer market, and everything about our premier 'product' our business offers (the team) is down to his actions.

He's been here 14~ years and helped shape the club from top to bottom, in the way we're viewed as well as smaller things like fitness, style of play, attractiveness to fans and so on. He's far more influential than some marketing director who decides what stance Theo should be in as he poses for the new shirt.

Not sure how difficult it is to understand why a manager entirely in charge of a club's vision gets far more importance, influence and control than what you'd term a 'low level director' (those of which we also have, and probably decide what colour the urinals in the stadium toilets are).

[Master Splinter]

To be honest, I don't know why you keep blindly praising Wenger. The fact that you don't think Wenger should've been sacked for the end of last season sums it all up really.

[Coney]

Jose and his half a billion pounds.

Don't exaggerate. It was only a third of a billion pounds so clearly he had a real struggle to find players.

[Boss]

Mourinho spent 11M a season net while he was at Chelsea.

Yep.

[Boss]

I don't think saving a few million in transfers here and there would have impacted on the finances we needed to move grounds, secondly yes Wenger has helped change the infrastructure of the club for the better but I say so what?...he's not Atlas holding up the world......the club would continue without him, Arsene Wenger is not Arsenal he serves at the pleasure of the club. Success in business as well in football comes with ruthlessness, you wouldn't hesitate to move on a player who had been pinnacle to the success of the club if he was no longer able to hack it.

Not sure what you're arguing as I want Wenger to gtfo too.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Mourinho spent 11M a season net while he was at Chelsea.

Yep.

What difference does that make (not that I believe it)? It doesn't mean they didn't spend anything.

Even if you are correct, when you consider the losses they have made, well then that indicates their wages have been on a ridiculous level (something we probably already know).

[Coney]

Mourinho spent 11M a season net while he was at Chelsea.

Yep.

That's as maybe, but Abramovich spent hundreds of millions.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I tend to think the people that voted yes in this poll are more inclined to do so because of the risk involved of getting rid of AW and not an immediate replacement on the horizon rather than actually believing in what he is doing for the club and believing he is taking us in the right direction.

My personal belief is if we go out of Europe (champions league) on Wednesday and this is followed by defeats to United and a failure to bring in fresh players....than the fans will have turned against him and then Ivan Gazidis must be a man of his word and get rid of Arsene

My personal choice for a replacement would be to try and bring in Louis Van Gaal until the end of the season, and then depending on how he does either appoint him full time or find a long term replacement for Summer 2012.