Arsenal: Billy Beane comments show Arsene Wenger transcends football

Arsene Wenger’s footballing philosophies have come under scrutiny as Arsenal’s success has waned. However, Billy Beane’s — the mastermind by Moneyball with the Oakland Athletic’s — comments are further proof that Wenger’s beliefs, ideals, and principles transcend football.

Arsene Wenger has a set of principles that he unwaveringly stands by.

He runs Arsenal football club in a way that many find infuriating, some find backwards, and others write off as simply wrong. However, the philosophies that he holds and he instils often transcend football; they are bigger than the success that is achieved or not.

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Proof of that comes from comments from significant people in other sports, the latest of which is Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletic’s general manager who revolutionised the game of Baseball. Here is what Beane had to say:

"“There are some decisions in sport that cost a lot of money, that are good decisions. Having a lot of money gives you access to very good decisions. Michael Jordan was worth a lot more money than he was paid by Chicago Bulls, even though he earned a lot of money. It’s the same thing in football – there are a lot of great footballers who are worth three times their earnings, despite the fact people think they are making a lot of money. I won’t go deep into it but I’m a huge fan of the Arsenal football club, because I think it’s a really [good example], from the football field to the way it’s been run, the stadium and everything. To me, it’s an admirable football club. It’s a football entity when all’s said and done.”"

For those that aren’t aware, Beane is the man behind the book and film Moneyball, that explores the statistical manner in which he manages the Oakland A’s, changing the archaic principles that riddled Baseball, resulting in the richest clubs winning, and the poorer clubs hoping for a surge of investment.

Beane challenged that thought by acquiring players, for cheap, who excelled at a particular aspect. They may have had significant weaknesses elsewhere, but Beane used an analytics method to build a team of specialists. It worked, and Baseball quickly followed suit, with the methods sweeping through the MLB.

He is an incredibly intelligent, sharp, and bright individual. He is heralded as one of the greatest minds in Baseball, and in sports management. And now he is praising the principles that Wenger uses to manage the Gunners. That is significant.

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Wenger, for all of his faults, failures, and flaws, has revolutionised Arsenal football club. For that, he deserves all the praise and reverence in the world, even if it may be time to move on.

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