There has been renewed talk, since the Chelsea defeat, that Arsene Wenger may be entering the last chapter of his Arsenal career.
While he’s done a remarkable job rebuilding an entire club, and remaining dignified to the last, there is a feeling that the club keeps banging its soft head against a really thick glass ceiling, year after year, under Wenger.
They have become excellent at dispatching smaller teams and giving Arsenal fans reason to believe that they can win the title each season – until they come up against a title rival and regularly fail. For all their great football Arsenal never feels like the most intimidating opposition. You go to Chelsea or City with genuine trepidation. But Arsenal doesn’t have that level of fear factor.
So has Wenger taken Arsenal as far as he can? The Telegraph reported today that the Arsenal top brass are already looking for successors long term.
Arsène Wenger has agreed in principle to extend his Arsenal contract beyond the end of this season but the club have also now begun making contingency plans for when their longest-serving manager leaves.
The report suggests 3 potential successors. Let’s take a look:
Roberto Martinez – So he hasn’t yet managed an elite club and the performance of David Moyes at Manchester United this season has illustrated the dangers of such an appointment but, increasingly, he seems like gamble worth taking.
He’s a forward thinking, eloquent and intelligent man who seems ever more like ‘Weeny-Wenger’ a Latin version of the French master. Martinez has, in 8 short months, installed an altogether more attractive style at Everton. But this Everton also knows how to grind out results and are not easy to beat. We think that Martinez would be a revelation at Arsenal and would imagine that he will be amongst the favourites for the job.
Jurgen Klopp – A superb visionary and an interestng eccentric to boot. We think that Klopp would also do an amazing job at Arsenal – you only have to look at Dortmund to see that his football philosophies would go down well with the North London purists.
But we think that Klopp will eventually be courted by one of the world’s juggernauts like Real, or either of the Manchester clubs. Dortmund to Arsenal may not represent the natural progression for the German genius.
Brendan Rodgers – Again he fits the bill. He has Premier League experience and knows how to get his teams playing beautifully. But Arsenal would have a nigh on impossible job persuading Rodgers to leave Liverpool. The Irishman has his teeth well and truly planted into the Liverpool job now and it’s highly unlikely that he would want to leave a marriage seemingly made in heaven.
Arsenal fans – who will eventually replace genius that is Arsene Wenger?
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