Arsenal: Wenger Right To Be Scared Of Retirement

Arsenal has been in a rough patch lately with Wenger, but that doesn’t mean that they should completely sell their soul after he’s gone and retired.

2004 was the last time we have seen Arsenal hoist a major trophy. As if you needed reminding. While it is constantly on our minds, sometimes there are questions over whether or not it is on Wenger’s mind. That much success early on can surely have an effect on a man’s mindset.

However, despite that concept, I believe there is no doubting that Wenger always has Arsenal’s best interests at heart, even if those best interests don’t involve shoveling out far too much money for someone like Gonzalo Higuain.

That heart can be found in the future that he is building. Any ordinary manager would be breaking the bank on superstars to go out with a bang. Wenger could have signed so many top-quality, world class players just for his last hurrah. In the process he would have drained Arsenal’s bank account, blocked off some long-time Arsenal players and saw to it that the future of Arsenal turned out much like the future of Manchester United.

Wenger hasn’t done that. Instead, Wenger has been reinvesting in the future of the club with teenage talents galore in an attempt to build a better future where the transfer market isn’t such a taxing concern.

After all, if your system supplies eight or nine of the eleven guys that you need on the pitch, the other two or three can easily be found externally.

Wenger wants to see this club succeed after he has retired, a concept that “scares him“. For all intents and purposes, Wenger is right to be scared. This is a world of instant gratification and there is no telling what could happen once he’s gone.

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Having managers stay on for decades is a thing of the past, so the best comparison we can make is to Sir Alex Ferguson. Fergie made United the club they are today (or were four years ago, if you will) but in the span of less than half a decade, the Red Devils have gone from a cast of Fergie’s hand picked gems and internal products to a club run by a mercenary captain that is, surprise, full of mercenaries.

And lo and behold, there have been no major trophies along the way.

All of the work that the greatest manager ever put into that team was made moot and pointless within four years of his departure.

How does Wenger feel, looking at that example? Here he’s gone and stocked the farm system, secured the budget, poured his very existence into the club and fortified it for prolonged success. What if the next guy comes in and breaks the bank on six major signings that replace everyone and block the future of the Jeff Reine-Adelaide’s and Donyell Malen’s?

That is a terrifying prospect to me, I can’t imagine how it makes Wenger feel.

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Say what you will about Wenger, but the man loves the club, he is responsible and, despite being awfully frugal and stubborn at times, he has proven to be one of the best managers in footballing history.

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