Video: Football panel suggest Arsenal will be ‘begging’ Arsene Wenger to stay as long as possible

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The Sunday Supplement panel have argued that Arsenal will be desperate to keep Arsene Wenger at the club given what is happening at Manchester United.

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Speaking to Sky Sports, Matt Dickinson of The Times suggested that the way in which United have struggled since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson shows how destabilising the process of replacing a long-time manager can be.

The Red Devils struggled under David Moyes initially, and although they remain just four points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal after 16 games this season, they haven’t entirely convinced under Louis van Gaal and were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage last week.

As a result, the argument from the panel was that the amount of change involved in that situation hasn’t helped the club maintain their usual level of success, and that the cyclical nature of football has finally hit them.

Aside from the obvious man-management skills and individual influence that Ferguson had, the change in style of play, scouting and overall preparation for the players that naturally occurs when a new manager comes in has disrupted the club’s progress.

With Wenger taking charge of Arsenal in 1996, there will certainly be a real transitional phase for the Gunners when the Frenchman eventually leaves his post.

As a result, there is an argument to suggest that they could learn from the mistakes that their rivals have made in the last two years, and look to ensure that the ‘handing over’ of the club is as smooth as possible with an individual that can simply carry on Wenger’s work.

Whether that comes from within their current staff or a player that worked under Wenger and is following a path in coaching, such as Thierry Henry as noted by talkSPORT, remains to be seen.

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