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Arsene Wenger Is The Patron Saint Of Arsenal
By Josh Sippie
There have been a lot of newsworthy bits that have emerged from Arsenal’s AGM. At the end of the day, very little was revealed, but a lot was said. And all that was not said was also just as newsworthy as what was said. But one thing that was said that was very newsworthy was said by Arsene Wenger (via ESPNFC).
There is no hiding from what Arsene Wenger is saying here. He is preparing for the end of his career. He made no qualms in insinuating that the end would be at the end of his new contract, which runs through next year.
That may or may not be the case. But that is also not what I am choosing to focus on in these statements. I am choosing to focus on the altruism that Arsene Wenger is, and has always been, claiming to exert. Arsene Wenger has always claimed that he acts solely in the best interests of Arsenal and its prolonged success. At no point has Wenger ever taken the Jose Mourinho approach and acted for personal gain. This man lives and breathes for Arsenal and that has always been the case. Or so he claims.
The best support for these claims is Arsene Wenger’s continued pursuit and acquisition of talented young individuals. Wenger cares much more for the glory of homegrown success as opposed to the Manchester United approach. This current Arsenal side has some long-term Arsenal guys but there are a lot of people who were brought on in the prime of their career.
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Wenger is clearly building a future for the team. A future that he may not be a part of. He is building the club for the long run. Not only with players but financially. We are so quick to criticize Wenger’s lack of spending but he is going to leave this club in a fantastic state. A mass of players will be hitting a crucial stage in their career when/if Wenger steps down at the end of 2017. That is a nice situation to be in. Not only that, but instead of piling up massive piles of debt for the next guy to deal with, Wenger is turning profits. He is establishing a nice surplus so the next guy can build what he needs to build.
It may have caused us a degree of frustration but we are unquestionable contenders this year. Not only that, but with each passing year, our premium crop of talent gets closer to contributing to the team. From there, prolonged success will be easy.
Could this really be the case or is it all just an excuse? By claiming to be building a future for the club, Wenger alleviates some of the pressure to win now. By appearing to be a paragon for Arsenal, all failures can seemingly be dismissed as a byproduct of building this beautiful future.
But is that scenario more believable than Wenger’s assumed altruism? Think of what Wenger has done. He has won with Arsenal. He has gone Invincible and revolutionized the game. He has become so engrossed in Arsenal that his family life has suffered. He has separated from his wife as a byproduct so as not to leave Arsenal before it is ready to be passed on to a new manager. So maybe Arsene Wenger is exactly what he has always said he was. Maybe he is like the patron saint of Arsenal and all he cares about is building a club that cannot be undone.
Arsene Wenger has laid a great foundation here at Arsenal. He has fortified and furthered an already thriving culture. And do not for a second believe that this culture that he has built cannot lead to sustained success. It absolutely can. By giving his successor so much young talent and such a financial surplus, Wenger is sacrificing his own image for the prolonged glory of the club.
Arsenal FC
Is that too bizarre to believe?
I investigated Arsenal’s apparent siding with the board over the fans yesterday. It does look a lot like someone who is completely unconcerned with the fans. But that is also a side affect of the approach that he continues to back. An approach that involves him getting incredibly unpopular before he moves on.
Or is it easier to believe that Wenger is sinking this Arsenal ship so as to gain financial reward? That is the most farcical of the potential scenarios. Why would he be loading up on young, prolific talent if he wanted the team to die? Arsenal is no longer in a position where they are losing their key players. So when Gedion Zelalem, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and company make it to the first team, they are not going to be sold off like old times. That has not happened in a few years now. They are going to remain.
By that time Arsene Wenger will be gone.
So yes, all things considered, Arsene Wenger might very well be the patron saint of Arsenal. He took the culture that Arsenal already had and fortified it. He built them a castle and filled it with all the necessary armaments and manpower to defend that castle for decades.
All of this while sacrificing his own image. Call it altruism.
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