Arsenal: Arsene Wenger not a typical manager under pressure

Arsene Wenger is feeling the heat from all sides–the fans, the media and the players. With the club at an all-time low, is it really the answer to fire him now?

Arsene Wenger has lost four games in a row for the first time in sixteen years after Arsenal’s loss against Brighton on Sunday. It is a historically bad season for Arsenal and Wenger. Last year was the first time Wenger finished outside the top four. He continues to break records in his twenty-second year at the helm at Arsenal, but for the wrong reasons.

Every supporter can agree that Wenger is passed it and his time is nearing its end. “Wenger Out” cries have never been louder. The results and performances keep on declining and the light at the end of the tunnel seems distant.

But what gain comes of letting Wenger go now? Bringing in a new manager, be it Carlo Ancelotti or Marco Silva, will not guarantee success or better results. Wenger is not a typical manager under pressure, so we cannot attribute the usual corollaries that come when a club fires one manager and hires another.

Usually, when teams hire new managers, the players perk up because they are all fighting to impress their new boss. Results tend to start to pick up; a consequence of the new manager bounce—largely a myth that occurs because of luck.

Wenger has been at the club for nearly twenty-two years. Sacking Wenger is not like sacking Ronald Koeman or Paul Clement or Slaven Bilic. It’s not even like Chelsea’s sacking of José Mourinho in 2015 or Leicester City’s sacking of Claudio Ranieri last year, after they won the Premier League title the previous season.

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The atmosphere around the club will be solemn if Wenger goes now. Some supporters might cheer, but the majority will mourn. Collectively, Arsenal supporters might be relieved, but also heartbroken because of the acrimonious way it all ended.

But, it doesn’t have to end now. With little to play for, there is no guarantee that the results will pick-up or the mood will lighten with the hiring of a new manager, especially because of the heavy nature that comes with letting Wenger go. There is little benefit from hiring a new manager. The only thing can that remedy the current situation is positive results. Arsenal is still better than seventy percent of the teams in the Premier League and results are bound to pick up.

This summer is the best time to part ways with Wenger. It would be best if they announce that this is going to be his last year, as it would calm everybody’s nerves and give Wenger the send-off he deserves.

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This is not the right time to say goodbye to Wenger. Arsene Wenger may not be the man for the future, but he is the man for right now, for better or for worse. It’s a case of later rather than sooner.

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