Sir Didier Drogba
Head Official
As this season draws to a close, I think it is undeniable that the managerial future of Arsenal Football Club is starting to concern even the most die-hard Wengerites. Whilst the Piers Morgan led fringe, a sizeable fringe, has long been calling for a change in management, the majority of Arsenal fans on the street have seemed unenthusiastically content to continue trusting in Wenger at the helm. Until now.
If there was ever any doubt that it is not possible for Arsenal to attain (regain, if we look back far enough) the next level under Wenger - winning titles and campaigning deep into the Champions League - it must surely have disappeared as this season draws to a close. Up until now, Arsenal fans have been (barely) placated with occasional FA cup wins, CL qualification and a sense of moral high ground that 'the only thing more beautiful that our football is our balance sheets'. Wenger repeatedly stated that the reason they no longer won titles is because they could not compete financially, and the fans begrudgingly believed him. This season changes everything. A few months ago, most fans and all bookies favoured Arsenal to finally win back the league. Surely the recurring 'late season collapse' could not occur when all the other 'big four' teams where collapsing at a seismic velocity? People loved Leceister, even Tottenham were creeping up at that point but, if Arsenal in the past didnt have the depth and financial resources to maintain a sustained title challenge, surely these clubs didn't?
Guess what? They did. One of Leceister or Tottenham will win the league, and with it will banish all of Arsene's financial excuses into the abyss. Arsenal have blown every chance for years, this was the easiest chance, the biggest open goal, they have ever had. And they blew it.
It now seems inescapable that what many of us have long suspected is true - Arsenal can never take that step up under Wenger. Even Kroeke - who clearly regards Arsenal as a business rather than a passion - cannot desire to tread water forever. BUT, one huge dark cloud hangs over the more moderate of the exasperated fans - Arsenal can never get better under Wenger, but it also appears they can never get worse.
Of the traditional 'big four', or 'big five' if we want to (quite reasonably) include Liverpool, only Arsenal have comfortably secured their top four finish in this craziest of crazy season. That's big - Arsenal will definitely be playing CL again next season, whereas Chelsea and at least one Manchester club definitely will not. The situation at Man Utd has shown how quickly the fortunes of a secure CL side, a secure title challenging side, can change with a bad managerial change, whereas the situation at Chelsea demonstrates that frequent, ad hoc managerial changes can lead to massive highs, but also massive lows. Remember Alan Curbishley at Charlton? They tread water for years under him, until finally the board thought they could do better and made a managerial change - and Charlton have never been seen in the top flight again.
If, when, Arsenal do finally change their manager, they had better make damn sure they get the right man. What should worry the Arsenal fans is if the board will choose their manager based solely on finding someone who can 'play the Arsenal way'. Managers I have seen dubbed 'the natural heir to Arsenal', mostly as a result of their style, include Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez, Jurgen Klopp, even Owen Coyle. Looking at these men now (and I know it is still early days for Klopp), I think Arsenal will feel very glad they did not hand the helm to any of them. If Arsenal try to find the 'heir to Wenger', as Utd thought Moyes was the 'heir to Ferguson', I feel it will be their undoing. United have considerably more financial resources and, one would have thought, pulling power than Arsenal, yet look how they stuggle to regain the ground lost by Moyes in merely a few months - if the same were to happen to Arsenal, they may not have the power to recover at all.
The next Arsenal manager will have to be a man who can get players to over-perform. There still remain some weak options in the Arsenal first eleven, a terrible injury proneness and a chronic lack of depth. With two or three seasons of (necessary) spending, a good manager should be able to correct this, but it is crucial that the team not be allowed to nosedive in those two or three seasons. The new man is going to have to work with Mertesacker, Walcott, Giroud, Monreal, Chambers, at least for as long as it takes to recruit and integrate new players - a few months at minimum, which United have demonstrated is more than enough time for an established but shaky team to crash and burn. He will have to be a motivator, an inspirational figure who can force the imbalanced band which is the Arsenal 25 to hold their ground whilst he makes the personnel changes and implements the strategy innovations which will be necessary to secure them in the long term.
So what do you do? Go for a so called 'safe pair of hands'? But, unfortunately, the changes in the modern game and increasing ages of many of the established top flight journeymen managers has gone to show that many of the so called 'safe pairs of hands' are becoming increasingly slippery. You can't just bring in a Van Gaal or a Hiddink or a Pellegrini and be sure they will steady the ship.
The other temptation would be to attempt to poach one of the 'success story' managers from within the league. Pochettino and Koeman will surely be considered, I've even heard some crazy talk about Eddie Howe (because he 'plays the Arsenal way'), but they must resist this temptation. Three seasons ago, Rodgers and Martinez would easily have been perceived in the same way as Pochettino and Koeman - and both of them have stalled following their subsequent moves. Yes, they may bounce back, but Arsenal do not have TIME. Arsenal cannot allow a honeymoon period, they cannot flunk even a single season, for fear the downward spiral will be irreversible.
There is only one man who can take over from Arsene Wenger. That man is Diego Simeone. Simeone has proven that he can inspire players to play well beyond expectations and sometimes their own abilities, Simeone has an unrivaled passion and aggression which will be absolutely necessary to FORCING Arsenal to keep their heads above the waterline during the transition period. Simeone can make great deals, spot talent, and yet is not afraid to open the cheque book when the right (affordable) man come along. Simeone has the reputation and the temperament to hold his own against a possibly unenthusiastic board. Simeone can win, and he takes every tournament and every game seriously. He can inspire fans and at the same time deflect the remaining Wengerites and naysayers with one snarl.
Arsenal must get him. If he doesnt want to leave Paleti this season, they must retain Wenger until he does. They must offer him whatever he wants. Other clubs will want him - but with Chelsea (Conte), City (Guardiola), Bayern (Ancelloti) and United (Mourinho) all taking up new managers who should all last at least a couple of seasons in post, and with a jump across Madrid presumably too controversial and Blanc seemingly secure at PSG, Arsenal may find they are in a rare and unique window of time when competition for his signature may be diminished. They must capitalize on it. With Wenger, they will never take the step up, without Wenger or Simeone they will surely take several steps down.
If there was ever any doubt that it is not possible for Arsenal to attain (regain, if we look back far enough) the next level under Wenger - winning titles and campaigning deep into the Champions League - it must surely have disappeared as this season draws to a close. Up until now, Arsenal fans have been (barely) placated with occasional FA cup wins, CL qualification and a sense of moral high ground that 'the only thing more beautiful that our football is our balance sheets'. Wenger repeatedly stated that the reason they no longer won titles is because they could not compete financially, and the fans begrudgingly believed him. This season changes everything. A few months ago, most fans and all bookies favoured Arsenal to finally win back the league. Surely the recurring 'late season collapse' could not occur when all the other 'big four' teams where collapsing at a seismic velocity? People loved Leceister, even Tottenham were creeping up at that point but, if Arsenal in the past didnt have the depth and financial resources to maintain a sustained title challenge, surely these clubs didn't?
Guess what? They did. One of Leceister or Tottenham will win the league, and with it will banish all of Arsene's financial excuses into the abyss. Arsenal have blown every chance for years, this was the easiest chance, the biggest open goal, they have ever had. And they blew it.
It now seems inescapable that what many of us have long suspected is true - Arsenal can never take that step up under Wenger. Even Kroeke - who clearly regards Arsenal as a business rather than a passion - cannot desire to tread water forever. BUT, one huge dark cloud hangs over the more moderate of the exasperated fans - Arsenal can never get better under Wenger, but it also appears they can never get worse.
Of the traditional 'big four', or 'big five' if we want to (quite reasonably) include Liverpool, only Arsenal have comfortably secured their top four finish in this craziest of crazy season. That's big - Arsenal will definitely be playing CL again next season, whereas Chelsea and at least one Manchester club definitely will not. The situation at Man Utd has shown how quickly the fortunes of a secure CL side, a secure title challenging side, can change with a bad managerial change, whereas the situation at Chelsea demonstrates that frequent, ad hoc managerial changes can lead to massive highs, but also massive lows. Remember Alan Curbishley at Charlton? They tread water for years under him, until finally the board thought they could do better and made a managerial change - and Charlton have never been seen in the top flight again.
If, when, Arsenal do finally change their manager, they had better make damn sure they get the right man. What should worry the Arsenal fans is if the board will choose their manager based solely on finding someone who can 'play the Arsenal way'. Managers I have seen dubbed 'the natural heir to Arsenal', mostly as a result of their style, include Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez, Jurgen Klopp, even Owen Coyle. Looking at these men now (and I know it is still early days for Klopp), I think Arsenal will feel very glad they did not hand the helm to any of them. If Arsenal try to find the 'heir to Wenger', as Utd thought Moyes was the 'heir to Ferguson', I feel it will be their undoing. United have considerably more financial resources and, one would have thought, pulling power than Arsenal, yet look how they stuggle to regain the ground lost by Moyes in merely a few months - if the same were to happen to Arsenal, they may not have the power to recover at all.
The next Arsenal manager will have to be a man who can get players to over-perform. There still remain some weak options in the Arsenal first eleven, a terrible injury proneness and a chronic lack of depth. With two or three seasons of (necessary) spending, a good manager should be able to correct this, but it is crucial that the team not be allowed to nosedive in those two or three seasons. The new man is going to have to work with Mertesacker, Walcott, Giroud, Monreal, Chambers, at least for as long as it takes to recruit and integrate new players - a few months at minimum, which United have demonstrated is more than enough time for an established but shaky team to crash and burn. He will have to be a motivator, an inspirational figure who can force the imbalanced band which is the Arsenal 25 to hold their ground whilst he makes the personnel changes and implements the strategy innovations which will be necessary to secure them in the long term.
So what do you do? Go for a so called 'safe pair of hands'? But, unfortunately, the changes in the modern game and increasing ages of many of the established top flight journeymen managers has gone to show that many of the so called 'safe pairs of hands' are becoming increasingly slippery. You can't just bring in a Van Gaal or a Hiddink or a Pellegrini and be sure they will steady the ship.
The other temptation would be to attempt to poach one of the 'success story' managers from within the league. Pochettino and Koeman will surely be considered, I've even heard some crazy talk about Eddie Howe (because he 'plays the Arsenal way'), but they must resist this temptation. Three seasons ago, Rodgers and Martinez would easily have been perceived in the same way as Pochettino and Koeman - and both of them have stalled following their subsequent moves. Yes, they may bounce back, but Arsenal do not have TIME. Arsenal cannot allow a honeymoon period, they cannot flunk even a single season, for fear the downward spiral will be irreversible.
There is only one man who can take over from Arsene Wenger. That man is Diego Simeone. Simeone has proven that he can inspire players to play well beyond expectations and sometimes their own abilities, Simeone has an unrivaled passion and aggression which will be absolutely necessary to FORCING Arsenal to keep their heads above the waterline during the transition period. Simeone can make great deals, spot talent, and yet is not afraid to open the cheque book when the right (affordable) man come along. Simeone has the reputation and the temperament to hold his own against a possibly unenthusiastic board. Simeone can win, and he takes every tournament and every game seriously. He can inspire fans and at the same time deflect the remaining Wengerites and naysayers with one snarl.
Arsenal must get him. If he doesnt want to leave Paleti this season, they must retain Wenger until he does. They must offer him whatever he wants. Other clubs will want him - but with Chelsea (Conte), City (Guardiola), Bayern (Ancelloti) and United (Mourinho) all taking up new managers who should all last at least a couple of seasons in post, and with a jump across Madrid presumably too controversial and Blanc seemingly secure at PSG, Arsenal may find they are in a rare and unique window of time when competition for his signature may be diminished. They must capitalize on it. With Wenger, they will never take the step up, without Wenger or Simeone they will surely take several steps down.
