Arsenal: Thierry Henry A Token Wenger Solution To Manager

Arsenal needs to identify serious managerial candidates as soon as possible. That being said, Thierry Henry is such a token Wenger solution.

We can all dream about Massimiliano Aleegri or Diego Simeone coming to Arsenal, but the simple fact of the matter is that, without Arsene Wenger’s approval, nobody gets the job. The board would sooner either their own heads than suffer through a manager that they don’t know or understand.

As such, chatter is picking up about the possibility of Thierry Henry being the next manager in North London. As the best success story under Wenger and a bonafide badass, you won’t find any self-respecting Arsenal supporter with anything bad to say about the best striker to ever touch down in England.

But the hesitations should come to the forefront when it comes to him being the manager. If for nothing else than because he doesn’t have much experience, something he himself admitted too.

Currently serving as Roberto Martinez’s assistant with the Belgium national team, Henry has also spent time with the Gunner’s youth set up, coaching youngsters as they strive to make an impact in the first team.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing ever, seeing Henry take over, because he has been outspoken about Wenger and Arsenal and their ambitions in the past and that, at the very least, shows that he wouldn’t be a puppet manager.

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But it would also be a token Wenger/Arsenal move. Rather than go for the blockbuster, gamechanging signing; rather than take a bold step in a brand new direction; rather then admit that the club has gone stale, they are instead going to try to revert back to the old days and hope that nothing too drastic needs to be done.

Henry is still a disciple of Wenger and while he would bring in fresh ideas and a new take on how to move the club forward, it would be the equivalent of expecting Donyell Malen to fill in for Alexis Sanchez, should the Chilean leave, rather than just signing Antoine Griezmann.

In that situation, Malen could grow into the role, but his lack of experience is a major hesitation and we’d be completely justified in being hesitant about the move. Optimistic maybe. Open-minded, perhaps. But confident? Not so much.

Henry himself admitted that he needs to learn his job. Although, for the record, that learning should be happening at the Emirates. So many successful Gunners have been shunned from roles with their former club simply because of this tight regime that Wenger runs.

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It would be interesting, no doubt. But at this point, I don’t think that should be the main thing we are looking for.

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