Arsene Wenger: A Damaged Legacy?

What exactly is his legacy now? I’m fortunate enough to remember AW arriving at Arsenal and the massive difference he made to our club. The fantastic football we played, the titles we won, the way we nurtured players, made them better (and never worried about losing any of them to domestic rivals!) We were classy as fuck and everyone knew it.

Then came the sugar daddies and Arsene began to flounder. Excuse after excuse rolled in but we lapped them up because we owed it to him and trusted his judgement. Once we’d paid off the stadium everything would be fine.

A decade and a half later and it all hangs in tatters. Ok, we recently got a couple of FA cups to prolong our agony/ the inevitable but everything else the club stands for has become a laughing stock. I no longer feel true pride in my club. In fact, when reading the usual shit spouted by the media or rival fans I often find myself nodding in agreement. You can’t dispute the facts, and they point towards us stagnating with no sense of direction or game plan. ‘Do nothing’ seems to be default stance, and when that doesn’t work throw in a few panic buys or bargains to appease the fans. I feel tricked, lied to and utterly dejected.

So, Arsene’s legacy. Yeah, it’s damaged. And this coming from someone who’s peak of football fandom coincided with AW’s arrival at Arsenal. I was there. Chanting his name. Celebrating his magic hat. And of course laughing at Spurs- a lot.

For anyone much younger than me, certainly anyone born in this millennium, other than what was etched into Arsenal folklore, I’m not really sure there was ever really much of a legacy to damage.

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This.
I’m hitting 40 and was a Gooner long before Wenger was appointed. I can appreciate all he has done, no denying the first 10 years were great. But just like with the board Wenger seems to have all fans who became supporters during his reign wrapped around his finger.

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Goddammit he has actually got me so triggered I’m at @Calum @Luca_from_Italy @Maverick79 levels of rage I just want him to fuck off so bad

I’m raging at the mo, have been since the Bournemouth game (city losing was a brief reprieve)

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Join the dark side man :ozil2:

funny thing is that before it was me thinking that wenger needs a chance and used to defend him, but now i cant stand seeing him or his name it feels like torment.

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I see Wenger is in the evening standard as saying the problem is the player recruitment since he left.

So says the man who left us Xhaka, Mustafi, Cech and a spent Ozil on an eye watering contract.

Player recruitment and retention was broken well before he left as well as after.

Pots and Kettles Monsieur Wenger

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I wait for the day Wenger is open and honest about it all, I cannot for the life of me accept Xhaka as a Wenger signing, no way in hell he personally sanctions Xhaka, hes the opposite of a Wenger player in every way imaginable.

Cech won golden glove first season with us, ozil thing was bad but I can only assume it’s so we didnt lose him and alexis on a free at the same time when they were the golden players for the fans.

It is impossible for me to accept that any player was ever forced upon Arsene Wenger.

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What he’s not saying is that the principal problem has continued to be the same: shit manager. Player recruitment secondary to that, and while it hasn’t been perfect, we’ve had some decent signings since he left.

Up until Big Weng and Gazidis finally fell out, and Josh Kroenke started becoming influential at board room level, there was no check on the Frenchman doing what he wanted.

Xhaka arrived summer 2016, that to me is when Big Weng was still in absolute despotic power

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It’s baffling that people still try to push this to support Wenger. He was totally and utterly in charge of the clubs transfer policy right up until you’d argue probably his final season where there was a clear power struggle going on.

If the club forced Xhaka, Mustafi and the likes on Wenger he’d have walked out of the job.

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Wasnt really supporting wenger just personally find it such a bizarre signing by him it makes no sense for him in my mind to sign a player like xhaka.

This isn’t true. Ppl are on the record saying that Wenger wanted VVD when he was at Celtic and our top scouts convinced him no. So yeah I’m sure Wenger had plenty of influence but he also was convinced by the ppl working with him. Much like Gazidis convinced him to use Stat DNA for Mustafi and Xhaka.

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Park. Sylvestre. Santos. Squillachi etc…yea he made dozens of bizarre signings.

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Midfielder, doing a job a league were he had set his focus for talent, playing under a manager known by his attacking football that manager also being a good friend of him.

Arsene signed plenty of shit players, but those guys you mentioned aren’t a comparison to Xhaka and Mustafi because of the money spent. All those doods, were shit but they were very clearly bargain bin buys. Xhaka and Mustafi we paid 70m for the pair, and it went against everything Arsene preached in regards the transfer market. He would spend but only on top top quality.

Convinced the guy in charge… who was still in charge… of making decisions. No other managers made decisions with input from other people…

Wut

The only thing that changed was Wengers judgment. He thought he was signing quality. He was wrong.

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What a coincidence that the very same time Stat DNA was introduced Arsene’s judgment all of a sudden changed, lelelelelell okay homeboy :joy::joy::+1::+1: