A Fan’s Perspective – Why Wenger Should Stay

Editor’s Note: I placed a call out to fans yesterday for one writer to defend Wenger and another to make the case against. I was surprised to get a request from a follower of mine @15yogooner – I was skeptical at first but said sure. The piece below is well thought out and very well written. So enjoy!!! – DAG.
As a teenager, I’ve only ever known Arsenal under the management of Arsene Wenger. I’ve been an Arsenal ‘fan’ all my life, but I became a real ‘supporter’ during our final season at Highbury, when I began going to more and more games. As such, I haven’t truly experienced the glory and emotion of seeing my team winning silverware – when we won our last trophy in 2005, I was playing for my 7-a-side team, and missed most of the game. These days I would never miss an occasion like that – in fact, I went to our most recent cup final. Back then, I didn’t have the same emotional connection and attachment to the Arsenal as I do now.
Seeing as I haven’t had that true feeling of winning a trophy, my best Arsenal moments have been individual moments, single games like our victories over Juventus and Real Madrid in the Champions League, or the more recent unbelievable triumph over Barcelona at the Grove. In the league, my highlights would be beating Chelsea this season, thumping Sp*rs 3-0 and Gallas’ last-gasp equaliser against United – I may hate him now but for that moment, I will always have a tiny bit of respect for him deep down. He cared – perhaps not about the club, as shown by his move across the North London divide, but about winning. Perhaps that’s what Arsene needs to instil into his current crop of players – winning is everything.
Which brings me back to the subject of this post. Arsene Wenger. The man who led us to two league & cup doubles, the Champions League final, and of course that amazing unbeaten run, stretching across three seasons. 49 games. A feat that remains untouched, and will probably not be beaten in the rest of my lifetime. He assembled a team of winners, players that would do anything for victory, like Gallas as I said before. Vieira, Henry, Bergkamp, Campbell, Pires, Ljungberg, Gilberto, Lauren, Toure, Lehmann and, dare I say it, Cole. Every single one of those players were consistently good. Off-days were rare, and even when we had them, we still pulled a result out of the fire somehow. Most of those players had been signed for a paltry fee by Arsene, and nurtuted into genuinely world class players. Sol was already a good player, but Arsene pulled a masterstroke by getting him to leave Sp*rs. Cole joined the club as a teenager about a year after Arsene joined, and was developed into a terrific player. Bergkamp had been signed by Bruce Rioch just before Arsene joined.
Fast forward six or seven years, let’s compare the teams. Szczesny – plucked from Poland by Wenger after his scouts recommended him. A good goalkeeper, who seems destined to become great, and he has a great attitude. No problems there – until we go lower through the ranks to find Manuel Almunia, who is a disaster that happens every time we play him. However, what would have happened if Lehmann, Stuart Taylor and Graham Stack had all been injured at the same time during the Invincibles season? Rami Shabaan would have played – I’m not sure he was any better than Almunia. I don’t think Arsene can be blamed for the current goalkeeping situation; it’s so rare that so many goalkeepers at a club are injured at the same time.
At right back, we have Bacary Sagna in place of Lauren. Similar types and levels of player, but Lauren would contribute a little more in attack I think. He was an unsung hero, with terrific spirit and a will to win. Sagna is similar, but perhaps not as much of a character – more quiet, definitely not as vocal as his predecessor. Our central defence partnership of choice would probably be Vermaelen and Djourou, as opposed to Toure and Campbell. Kolo and Sol both had their weaknesses, but when one of them slipped up, you could be sure the other would be there to clear up the danger. We can’t particularly judge Thomas and Johan as a partnership, as they’ve barely played together, but I’m not sure they’d be as solid as Sol and Kolo. The latter duo cost us about £250,000 in total, while Vermaelen cost £10 million on his own. At left back, there really is no arguing – as a player, Cole is far better than Gael Clichy. Gael has a good attitude, but is definitely not on Cole’s level in either attack or defence. A lot of times he costs us goals, and rarely does he supply goals anymore.
In midfield, I think we can compare Walcott and Ljungberg – only one winner. Freddie was obviously nowhere near as quick as Walcott with his feet, but his footballing brain far surpasses Theo’s. He scored and assisted so many goals, and was a vital piece of the puzzle. As for the Vieira/Gilberto duo compared to the midfield pivot of Song & Wilshere, you’d probably take the former every time, despite Wilshere’s progress. Song is also a good player, but Patrick and Gilberto were such an effective partnership – sitting deep and protecting the defence, with Vieira usually striding forward in attack. He was especially effective on the counter, with his speed of thought and movement, his eye for a pass better than perhaps given credit for. Both had won World Cups by this point, while Jack and Alex are only just beginning their senior careers – the future is bright, and Arsene has done well pairing them together in midfield. On the left, Robert Pires was a simply majestic player, so important in the run, contributing many important goals. Samir Nasri is a similar player to Bobby, conjuring up magic every now and then – but not as often. He goes missing in games still, while Pires would nearly always be relied on in any game.
Seeing as the formations were different, it’s difficult to compare the rest of the players, but Fabregas and Bergkamp probably play the most similar roles. Both dropping deep to pick the ball up, and lurking outside the box to set others up, although Dennis would often be in the box to finish off moves. Cesc is a few years younger than Dennis was, so you can understand why DB10 was a better player than our captain is now, but I don’t see any reason why Fabregas can’t be as good at his age. Wenger has done so well in his handling of Cesc – signing him in an excellent swoop, and helping him mature so well into the player he is now. Finally, the ‘out-and-out strikers’, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie. Of course, there’s only one winner, but keep in mind Henry was £10.5 million in 1999. In 2003, Robin was snapped up for just £3 million. Nowadays, £3 million would be more like £8 million, and £10.5 million roughly £20 million.
Which brings me onto one of the most discussed topics in terms of Arsene’s reign – the money he has spent. The Invicibles starting XI cost a total of £43.85 million, while our current strongest first eleven came to a rough cost of £38 million. The fact that we are still challenging for the league with such a difference in the costs of the teams (taking into account the inflation of the market these days) is a credit to Arsene. People call for his head because he doesn’t spend enough money – but has he been able to? The Emirates Stadium cost £470 million. Over the last five years, we’ve had to pay off that debt by selling players for a profit and by raising ticket prices. However, despite selling so many key players and buying for such low prices, we’ve managed to stay in the Champions League, strongly challenging for the league at least three times out of the five seasons. Without Arsene, would all of that have been possible? No is the answer.
This new stadium will help us be as big a club as we are long after Arsene leaves. He was hugely involved in the project of building the Emirates, and has been the one to steady the ship consistently every time we’ve wobbled. I have no doubts that he’s the one to take us through this so-called “crisis” and set us on the road for further glories. He’s our most successful manager ever, and the only reason we’ve gone without trophies for a few years is because he wants us to be able to win even more trophies in the future. That future was discussed eagerly about five years ago – we’re getting closer and closer to the promises being fulfilled. He is definitely not incapable of spending – before the move to the Emirates he wasn’t afraid to spend big, as the cost of our best eleven shows. Since the move, he’s had to operate on a low budget, and has still managed to bring players into the club who are now excellent, thanks to his guidance.
If we got rid of him now, who would come in? Who would give us Champions League football year in year out, no matter the financial situation, and even mastermind wins over the teams that were at the time heralded as the greatest in the world, like Real and Barcelona? I can’t imagine anyone else could do the same job as him. And now, we’re struggling a little, we’ve drawn our last three games I think. And our fans are getting angrier and angrier at Wenger. There was so much praise for the players after the win against Barcelona – but now, when things aren’t going as well, it’s Arsene those same people blame. Some people have very strange memories. It was he who got the tactics spot on against Barcelona, and it paid off. His tactics are still working fairly well, despite some questionable decisions, but the players have lost confidence and aren’t playing as well. It’s not all because of Wenger.
So next time you criticise Wenger, remember that record-breaking run, remember those sensational doubles, and all of those amazing results he helped us pull off. We wouldn’t be where we are without him.