Wenger Out – What The Papers Say About The Future Of The Arsenal Manager

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Things are looking grim for the Frenchman.

There is discontent at Arsenal currently after the side slumped to a 3-2 defeat to Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday in a scoreline that actually flatters the Gunners.

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The loss at the Britannia Stadium leaves Arsene Wenger’s men in sixth position in the English top tier and 13 points off leaders Chelsea after just 15 matches.

Many are suggesting that the Frenchman should leave, with just two FA Cup triumphs to his name over the past 10 years and here is what the newspapers had to say about his future.

Chief sports writer at the Sun Steven Howard is very clear on what he thinks of Wenger with his article titled, ‘Don’t this lot realise they must axe Wenger?’

“There is conclusive evidence the Frenchman is way past his best,” Howard writes.

“They are 13 points behind Chelsea and ten adrift of Manchester City after the second worst start of his Arsenal reign.

“Last season, there were the humiliations at City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Everton, where there were 20 goals conceded and just four scored.

“On top of this is the almost unbelievable record with injuries, statistics that suggest it is far more the type of player Wenger buys and poor injury-management than just bad luck.”

Howard’s opposite number at the Daily Mail, Martin Samuel, goes a little easier on Wenger, but still thinks the 65-year-old needs to leave the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season.

“Who wants Arsene Wenger sacked? Nobody, probably,” writes Samuel in his column.

“This is Wenger we are talking about. The architect of the modern Arsenal; 16 consecutive years in the Champions League and counting. Who is brave enough to coolly hand him the P45?

“Yet, who wants Wenger to be Arsenal’s manager beyond this season? That’s a different question. Quite probably, the majority hope vainly for a third way, the compromise that allows all parties a dignified exit.

“Taking this path, Wenger attempts his own review and comes to the obvious conclusion without need for unpleasantness. As an intelligent man, he understands that when your very presence at the club is causing supporters to fight you may no longer be part of the solution.”

Despite what Samuel says there is clearly a group of fans – admittedly quite a small group – that would like to see the manager axed by the club’s hierarchy.

Much to the embarrassment of other supporters Wenger can be seen being booed as he boarded the team bus following the loss to Stoke.

The Wenger bashing doesn’t end there either, with Eurosport deciding to be even more controversial by not only claiming the veteran should be sacked, but that Manchester United legend Roy Keane should succeed him.

“Arsene Wenger should be sacked by Arsenal,” Eurosport says with remarkable bluntness.

“Arsenal do not need more of the same, technical excellence and physical brittleness. They need a bastard as a manager.

“It wouldn’t be a success, and it would in fact probably make the situation in the short term a great deal worse. But in the long term, appointing Roy Keane as a manager for the club would be a masterstroke.

“Arsenal don’t evolution. They need a mass extinction event.”

For support of Wenger we turn to our own with CaughtOffside pointing out the reasons why the boss deserves more respect and time for all he has done for the club since taking charge back in 1996.

“The Frenchman has been at Arsenal for 18 years, and if he and the board decide at the end of the season that it is time to take the club in a new direction then so be it. For Wenger to step down or be removed now though, would more than likely be hugely detrimental to the club,” says CaughtOffside.

“An adequate replacement is vital, so to sack Le Prof mid season with no successor in mind would be suicide. Clubs nowadays are far too quick to pull the trigger on their managers in the middle of the campaign, and it rarely proves a successful strategy.

“There is no question that the North London club has plateaued in recent years, but to pin the blame solely on Arsene Wenger is extraordinarily harsh. The French manager has done the best he can with his hands tied at every turn, and with the club operating on a shoestring budget he has kept them competitive and in and around the top four consistently.

“The problem at this point is no longer that Arsenal are failing to win trophies, but that Arsenal fans still expect them to and count the season as a failure if they don’t.

“The simple fact of the matter is that Arsene Wenger has done well with what he’s got, and that is something that needs to be recognised.”

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