The man they call “the professor” walked out of a football club he gave so much success under a thick cloud. Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal FC and the EPL as a relatively unknown manager from Japanese club, Nagoya Grampus Eight in 1996. It did not take him too long to announce himself to the league as he won a double in his first full season.
Years later, he led the team to an undefeated league season which earned them the nickname: “The Invincible”. Alongside these successes, Wenger gave Arsenal a unique identity and influenced other managers and clubs. He is one of the foremost managers in the history of the EPL that prioritized footballer’s diet. Therefore, it came as no surprise when fans and footballers started to address him as “The Professor”.
A beautiful marriage soon turned sour and the professor was forced to resign, amidst so much bad blood. Years later, nothing seems to have changed at the club. Hence, we will look at 5 lessons to learn as we look at Arsenal in the post-Wenger era.
EPL Top 4: Now an Achievement
In Arsene Wenger’s 22 year reign at Arsenal, a position amongst the top four teams in the EPL was almost a certainty. Indeed, Wenger led Arsenal to a top-four place in the league in 20 of his 22-year management. Unfortunately, this was not considered an achievement, even amongst Arsenal fans.
Wenger was ridiculed whenever he pointed to the fact that he made one of the top four positions during his first 20 years at the club. Fast forward to three years post-Wenger era, and the club is yet to reach the same height. Arteta might have won the FA Cup in his first season but that competition was Wenger’s hunting ground. He is the most successful manager in the history of the competition with 7 wins.
In the three years post-Wenger era, Arsenal finished 5th in 2018/19 and 8th in the 2019/20, 2020/21 season respectively. The Champions League is now a competition Arsenal dreams of competing in, like Newcastle, Everton and Leicester: it is no more certain. Offer the Arsenal fans who ridiculed Wenger a place amongst the top four EPL teams at the end of the season, they will leap for joy. The grass they say is not always greener on the other side!
Arsene Wenger: More Than a Coach
In football, coach and manager are two words used interchangeably. However, the latter is often used when alluding to someone who is involved in many other aspects of a club besides preparing match-day tactics. This is why the word coach is inadequate when discussing Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Wenger brought stability to Arsenal as a football club in managing players and the dressing room, the club finances, and relating with the club owners. It is safe to say that without Arsene Wenger at the helm, Arsenal may never have remained competitive on the pitch as the club built the Emirates Stadium.
In managing players, there are few people in football as good as Wenger. A former Ballon d’Or winner, George Weah once said: “Besides God, I think that without Arsene, there was no way I would have made it in Europe.” Cesc Fabregas was more specific in his thoughts about Wenger when he said: “I will never forget his guidance and support, his tutelage and mentorship. He was like a father figure to me who always pushed me to the best.”
When Wilshere and Szczesny were reportedly involved in repeated misconduct, they were quietly eased out of the club. The same cannot be said of Emery who failed to manage the stand-off between Mesut Ozil and the club hierarchy. This stand-off brought Arsenal to the limelight for the wrong reasons and to an extent affected the team.
Interestingly, Arsene Wenger is one of the average footballers who turned out to be a great coach according to Soofootball.
Poor Results: The Squad Not the Managers
Often time managers bear the brunt of a team’s poor results. In the twilight of Wenger’s managerial career with Arsenal, the team’s poor performance resulted in the continuous and often vile campaign against him.
In different stadiums and competitions, the “Wenger Out” banner was displayed by the Arsenal fans. Post-Wenger, the same trait was displayed by the Arsenal fans during Unai Emery’s reign. He had barely spent 2 years on the job when the “Emery out” banner was unveiled at the emirates.
This makes one wonder if the managers are the problem in the first place. Is it a coincidence that the last time Arsenal won the league they had world-class players all over the pitch? The likes of Jens Lehman, Sol Campbell, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, amongst others.
A look at Arsenal’s post-Wenger results suggests that Wenger overachieved. The loss of the aforementioned world-class players who were not replaced adequately is a time bomb Arsenal failed to realize. How Wenger managed to make the team competitive and made the top four position in the EPL almost a certainty remains a mystery. The Arsenal squad, not the manager, is the reason for the poor results. If it was not, Arsenal would have recorded better results after Wenger.
Ruthless Management
One of the major criticisms faced by Wenger for the majority of his reign at Arsenal was his often lenient approach towards player management. As earlier explained, Wenger was not just a coach; he was like a father to many of the players. The downside of it is that when people expected him to be firm in his decision, Wenger took an overly cautious approach.
Mikael Silvester who played under Wenger said of his manager’s approach: “I think on some occasions, I have been experiencing this with Arsene Wenger as a manager, he was not ruthless enough with the players.” He made that comment towards the end of Wenger’s reign at the club.
Perhaps, this sentiment was shared by Arteta who at the time was Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City. So when he was appointed as the Arsenal manager and was asked to state one of the major things he learnt from Guardiola, he said: “What I have learnt most is you have to be ruthless”
He has backed his words with actions in several situations. For instance, he took Ozil out of the starting eleven and the squad for not playing up to his expectation despite featuring the player from the start in 10 previous league matches. He also showed Guendouzi the exit door when the player reportedly refused to apologize for his misconduct in a match against Brighton and Hove.
Therefore, it did not come as a surprise that he (Arteta) led the club to their first two titles Post-Wenger era (vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the Community Shield).
Division Breeds Poor Results
A house divided against itself cannot stand. Unfortunately, Arsenal is yet to come to terms with this. Only a few clubs managed to thrive amid disunity or with unfair internal criticism. Arsenal enjoyed its best period under Wenger at a time when the club enjoyed some unity.
The fans cheered their own and jeered the opposition customarily. Things started to deteriorate as soon as fans turned on their players and manager. As in other occupations, a toxic work environment limits the efficiency and effectiveness of workers. One can only wonder what it felt like for Wenger or Emery to walk into the Emirates stadium and see the different banners calling for their heads.
Criticism is a part of sports but it should not degenerate to the level where aeroplanes are used to fly a banner that reads: “No Contract, Wenger Out”. It was not just Wenger, Emery (Wenger’s successor) and Kroenke (Arsenal’s owner) were not spared either. Arteta has enjoyed some relative peace within the club since he took over. He has since won two trophies in less than two seasons and could win more laurels if this peace is maintained.
Final Thought
No one reason can be said to have led to Arsenal’s poor run of form, especially since Wenger’s exit. In Wenger’s 22 years at Arsenal, the club’s worst league position was the 6th position. However, they finished in 8th position twice in just 3 seasons after his exit.
Perhaps, Wenger overachieved with the squad he had and should never have left the club in the manner he did: ridiculed, disrespected and subjected to unfair criticisms.
Don’t you think Arsene Wenger deserved better treatment from Arsenal Fans?