Wenger is Old and Out of Touch...will Arsenal Move on From Him?

When watching Wenger give his post-match interview after Arsenal lost against Chelsea, in slightly controversial circumstances, I had a revelation.

Wenger just got old.

I've seen him give dozens upon dozens of interviews, and I know his face very well and his mannerisms. But this was the first time that it just dawned on me that Wenger has finally gotten old. He has reached that age where the hunger and desire is no longer there anymore. It's the age where you view life through different lenses, with a cigar and swinging chair on a porch as you reflect on what came before. It's the time when you retire.


Arsenal as a team are a very talented one. They need to bring in a few players to be considered a serious global team, but they are talented. With Wenger, all that talent will go to waste because they aren't really going anywhere. There is no evolution, no tactical variation or imagination in the team. For young dynamos like Oxlade-Chamberlain, that is criminal as a player like that has the potential to be a serious addition to the world of football.






Wenger has done great things for Arsenal and he is still one of the best coaches in the world. The way he has developed Walcott, who was merely just a sprinter from Southampton and what he did with Henry, Fabregas and Nasri is proof of what he can do. But a coach is a coach, he is not a manager. A manager has coaches who works with talents to improve different aspects of their game; but it is the manager who is responsible for winning games and titles. Wenger just does not have that knack in him anymore and his team is not talented enough to win it  purely on their ability, they need something more.

A good example is Atletico Madrid. Jackson Martinez is one of the up and coming strikers, Blondie aka Torres still has the talent in him and Griezmann has to be one of the most exciting wingers in the world right now. With all that talent though, they need the incredible tactical knowledge of Simeone for them to be a team who you could say can possibly win a Champions League or La Liga. Their talent alone can't win matches; Simeone is a vital component of getting the very best out of that talent to get the three points. This is what Arsenal need and Wenger just can't give it to them.


When you go down to ten men, and you have been hard done by, that is where a manager really earns his wage. That's where it's purely about tactics and strategy now. Wenger did not offer any of these yesterday against Chelsea. It was pretty much more of the same without trying anything new to try and make it more difficult for Chelsea. And the question is; how long will Arsenal fans be happy to just watch a team go through the emotions and do the same exact thing over and over again...knowing that they are capable of so much more in a league that they CAN win?