Agency :
For many teams, an FA Cup triumph and a 15th straight year of qualifying for the Champions League’s last 16 would be enough to keep a manager out of the hot seat. Not so when it comes to Arsenal. This season, despite a shiny new addition to the Emirates trophy cabinet and safe passage to the Round of 16 in Europe’s elite competition, Arsene Wenger is feeling the heat once again.
Banners emblazoned with “Wenger Out” have become a regular site at Arsenal’s home matches this season. During Arsenal’s recent Champions League clash with Galatasaray, stewards actually prevented traveling fans from unfurling one.
Wenger’s problems are partially of his own making. During the Frenchman’s first eight years in charge, he turned Arsenal into one of English soccer’s dominant powers, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups. For Arsenal fans used to seeing their club challenge for titles every year, the steady erosion of the Gunners’ stock as title contenders has been hard to stomach.
The construction of and move to the Emirates Stadium tied up the club’s finances for several years. For a time, Arsenal looked in danger of becoming a selling club as fans became all too accustomed to seeing their best players leave, but Wenger actually deserves more credit than he gets for his stewardship of the club during those lean years. Despite not winning any trophies, Arsenal maintained its top-four status in the Premier League and consistently made it into the last 16 of the Champions League, at times with teams that lacked the apparent quality to do so.
The problem for Wenger now is that this was the season it was all supposed to be different. Coming off the back of FA Cup success and having spent big on players like Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, and Calum Chambers, Arsenal has fallen well short of expectations. A record of just six wins in 15 rounds played has understandably led to an increase in calls for the manager’s well-coifed head.
While Arsenal fans have a right to want more, it’s pretty easy to demand a manager be sacked. Replacing him with one that won’t make things worse is a different matter. As we witnessed last season with David Moyes at Manchester United, when a long-term manager departs, no matter how successful he’s been, a period of instability may follow.
But Arsenal may be nearing a point where the board is just going to have to roll the dice and see what happens. With this season’s Premier League train already having left the station and a menacing Champions League draw lurking, Arsenal could be staring down the barrel of another trophy-less season. Although even with their current poor run of form, the Gunners will likely right the ship in time to finish in the top four once again. The question is, will that be enough to appease Arsenal fans who’ve grown tired of watching their team come close but fail at the final hurdle?
If Arsenal is to get off the plateau it currently seems stranded on, a change of managers might ultimately be what’s needed. It might create problems in the short- erm, but in the long run, it could be what Arsenal needs to shake things up and start really challenging the top sides in England and Europe again.
