Arsenal: Arsene Wenger, you’re not needed anymore

Season after season has gone by and Arsenal are still managing to underachieve, how is this possible? Well, it’s down to one man – Arsene Wenger.

Ever since I can remember I’ve loved Arsenal Football Club – the fans, the history, and the passion. But in recent years, things have gone quite sour for this historic club. Arsenal have been underachieving with a squad chock-full of talent.

Why hasn’t this once mighty European giant of a club not won a league title since 2004? It’s down to one man: Arsene Wenger, who has been at the helm since 1996.

That’s a long time.

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Arsene Wenger came to Arsenal from Nagoya Grampus Eight in the Japanese J-League. He took over as Arsenal manager on October 1st, 1996. With plenty of football pundits saying “Arsene who?”. Right as he walked through those doors he was granted total control over the club; transfers, training sessions and even players eating habits. He has brought in many players who have flopped but also some that have become club legends.

Transfer Control

In the summer of 1999, Wenger signed then injury-prone striker Thierry Henry from Juventus for £11.5m. Henry went on to write his name into Arsenals record books, scoring a record 174 goals and making 254 appearances for the side. Henry now rightfully has a statue outside the Emirates Stadium commemorating his contributions to this club.

Another club legend would be Dennis Bergkamp also known as the “non-flying Dutchman” for his fear of flying. Bergkamp went on to make 315 appearances for Arsenal in 11 years scoring only 87 goals.

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The flops, however, are remembered just as much. Does anyone remember Marouane Chamakh or Sebastian Squillaci? Both were brought in to help Arsenal fight for a title but both only hurt the side. Johan Djourou and Kim Kallstrom are two more flops. Djourou was always a red card waiting to happen as he wasn’t as confident in the tackles. Kim Kallstrom, well do I even need to mention what happened with him?

With all these transfers, some good some bad, with the funds made available to Wenger over the years, should he have achieved more?

The answer is a simple yes. With that amount of money and backing from the board, any manager should have won at least the league in the last 14 years. Arsene Wenger needs to step back and let someone with fresh ideas step in and take charge. Carlo Ancelotti has been linked with the job but Wenger looks set to manage Arsenal until he’s in his 90’s.

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Arsene Wenger needs to step down as manager before he runs this historic and proud club into the Championship. He lacks the motivation to rev his players up, he’s emotionless on the touchline, rarely issuing orders to his clueless players. Wenger needs to do whats best for the club, not for himself.