WENGER - Is it time to move on?

Given what Arsene Wenger has achieved, it would be difficult to imagine Arsenal without him. But I think it is a distinct possibility in the near future.

Despite what the Frenchman has done at Arsenal, the North London club were a huge club before he arrived and will be after he leaves.

Granted, Wenger transformed the way Arsenal played and also re-addressed the fitness regimes, diets and mentality of the club. But he didn’t make Arsenal an overnight success.

Under George Graham they won two league titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups and a European Cup Winners’ Cup between 1987 and 1994.

Graham was a dogmatic and direct coach who built his team’s foundation on sturdy defences and skilful wide players. This is quite the opposite of the contemporary Wenger teams who concede a few goals and don’t score many goals direct from crosses into the box.

Although Emmanuel Adebayor’s presence has slightly altered this style, his teams are more suited to counter attacking and playing through the middle.

I was listening to Radio Five Live last weekend and Mike Ingham made a very valid observation. He added that the double winning teams of 1998 and 2002 and the 2004 championship winning side all contained an English spine, and importantly an English defence.

The likes of David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Tony Adams and Martin Keown spanned both double winning teams, while in 1998 Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn were still regulars at the back.

In 2002, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Dixon, Adams and Keown, were part of a solid, powerful defence. And Campbell, Cole and Keown were also there two years later, during the Gunners unbeaten season.

Ingham asked the question, would Wenger have signed Adams, Keown, Bould, Dixon, Winterburn and even Seaman? All three of these teams also included Ray Parlour and would Wenger have signed him? He didn’t sign Jimmy Bullard, a very similar player, despite being heavily linked to him in January. Is it because he was too old? Was it because he was too expensive?

The game has possibly moved on a little, and Arsenal have two English players close to, or playing in the first team. But Theo Walcott and Keiran Gibbs are raw, and need developing. Walcott is very special, but you would hardly call either of them spine players would you?

Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all have a middle spine of English players, but Arsenal do not. Are players from these shores an important aspect of a successful Premiership team?

The Arsenal spine is weak. Almunia is the weakest of the top four goalkeepers while Kolo Toure is not the same player without Sol Campbell alongside him, Cesc Fabregas is top class, but Denilson and Diaby, are they top level? Adebayor has been very disappointing this season and Van Persie, although a top player, is injury prone and picks up a lot of suspensions throughout the season.


Tomas Rosicky is an excellent player, but will he get over his injury problems? It’s also difficult to see Eduardo being the same player after his horrific injury last season.

The injuries are not Wenger’s fault, but unlike previous seasons, Wenger’s team has not pushed on from the success of last season.

I remember once thinking that Wenger was the master when it came to developing players who had previously looked like lost souls. Later he would so often nurture them into superb players once they had adjusted to the English game. Some were even world class.

Robert Pires for example, took a whole season to adjust, but then won footballer of the year. Freddie Ljungberg looked like such an average player for a good two seasons, but then became one of the best goal-scoring midfielders in Europe, and was a crucial player in the 2002 run in.

Wenger converted Thierry Henry from a winger lacking confidence at Juventus to the most lethal striker in world football. And Edu, who looked way out of his depth in his first six months at the club, was shaped into a superb all round midfielder who had tenacity, a knack of scoring important goals and had an incredible engine.

Alexander Hleb also appeared overpriced at first. But after a year or so, his superb technique, wonderful close control and ability to keep the ball in tight situations was so terrific on the eye. But he was sold, along with Flamini. They reportedly wanted to go, but why? Was it the manager? Was it wages? Or was it the club?

The current crop of players may yet prove me and other doubters wrong, but the majority of the players from last year still remain. They haven’t pushed onto the next level. They have had injuries, but surely this is where Wenger’s highly rated and much lauded youth players should come into play and demonstrate the strength of his squad.

Last season Arsenal finished on 83 points, just four points behind Manchester United. That is one result away from the title. They also finished seven points ahead of Liverpool.

This campaign, the Gunners finished 14 points behind Liverpool and 18 points behind Manchester United, is that progress? Is that the young players getting even better? No.

The team haven’t kicked on, in fact they seem to have gone backwards. Maybe they just overachieved last year, but quite frankly in the semi final of the Champions league, they were out of their depth and could have lost by a lot more goals over the two legs. They were never in contention.

The worrying thing for Wenger is that many of the players who were injured earlier in the season were available. They were virtually at full strength across those two ties.

The majority shareholder at the Emirates, Stan Kroenke, has said he is unhappy at finishing so far behind the leaders. At the AGM it is believed that Wenger’s outstanding record in years gone by has given him breathing space. But it’s four years since they won a trophy and they have only challenged for the title once in five years. Even George Graham didn’t have such a lean spell.

Of course, these days it’s not only managers’ skills that win titles. Finances and pay structure play a huge role, and both of these factors have hindered Arsenal. The terrific Emirates stadium is great for the future and will in the long term, provide huge financial stability for the London club. But some fans are certainly becoming impatient after years of wonderful football and domestic success. They have been spoilt.

From what I’ve seen of Arsenal, they can still play some great attacking football, and the one touch play is a pleasure to watch. However, they lack a Viera, or even a Flamini to patrol in front of the back four. I’m not sure Diaby, Denilson or Song are up to this task, but I have thought this before about Wenger’s teams, so I will reserve judgment.

However, unlike the earlier years of Wenger’s reign, when he knew when to offload a player and get the maximum profit from him, Wenger’s judgement in the transfer market seems to have waned slightly.

Players such as Overmars and Petit were sold at the right time and he received excellent transfer fees for them. Nicolas Anelka was also a great bit of business, but with Viera he waited one year too long, and it appears like he has also waited one year too long to sell Adebayor. The front man has become a frustrating figure this season and was sulky and anonymous against Manchester United in the Champions League. I expected this to be the sort of high profile game he would shine in.

I bet Wenger wished he let him go last summer for 30 million pounds. He will do well to command such a fee now for the Togo striker.

You also have to question the Frenchman’s handling of Lassana Diarra. He is exactly the type of player they require now and it makes you wonder how he let him slip away. Would that have happened six or seven years ago? Again, probably no.

Despite my views on Wenger’s decision-making, I also believe Wenger has had his hands tied to a certain extent. The building of the stadium has restricted him in the transfer market, although he is also very stubborn and frugal. It must be his degree in Economics. You certainly wouldn’t find Wenger claiming for expenses.

Chelsea and Manchester United, and even Liverpool have bigger spending power. The record signings of these clubs illustrate that, and the Emirates club are in far less debt than any of the other ‘big four’. But fans demand instant success.

Wenger has given the Arsenal faithful some wonderful memories, but is it time to move on? He has not won the Champions League, something I believe hinders him in the transfer market, despite the obvious pull factor of London.

Although Andrey Arshavin was signed in January, I actually believe that many big name players are put off by the club’s lack of success in Europe, or maybe the fact that they cannot command such a high salary. But this has been the case for many years, it just appears that Wenger has lost the knack of solving this conundrum.

Wenger hasn’t just fallen behind Chelsea in recent years, but has also fallen behind Liverpool. The former Highbury club finished in the top two every year between 1998 and 2005. However, they have finished fourth in three of the last four seasons, and 2006 aside have never looked close to winning the Champions League.

It would be sad to see Wenger go, but maybe he has finally taken Arsenal as far as he can. It was interesting to see him say that Florentino Perez being voted in at Real Madrid was ‘an interesting project’. Perez is a long time admirer of Wenger and it would be an interesting proposition for the Arsenal boss.

The Strasbourg born coach has surprised us before and could well do it again. But me, like many others did not expect Arsenal to be so far off the top of the league this year. They team even had five consecutive goalless draws in January and February, something un-heard of among Wenger’s usual free flowing, prolific teams.

The speculation regarding Pat Rice’s departure from the club only adds substance to the possibility of the Frenchman ending his 13-year association with the club. He was even quoted in one newspaper recently, criticising the Arsenal fans and stating they were destroying his players’ confidence.

Whether you love or loath Wenger, you cannot deny the impact he has made. But have other managers just caught him up now? He was a revolutionary in English football, but seems to have reached a plateau.

One thing is for sure. All is not well at the Emirates, despite last week’s reports.