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| Arsene Wenger has done an incredible job to take Arsenal into the top three |
It has certainly not been the best season Arsene Wenger has presided over in North London, either.
But for the way the Frenchman has picked up his battered and bruised troops and put them on track for a top-three Premier League finish, he deserves tremendous credit and there can't have been many managers who have done a better job than him this season.
In the top flight, Brendan Rodgers, Paul Lambert and Alan Pardew are among the bosses who should be considered for the manager of the year award, but Wenger can't be far behind them in the reckoning for the way he has salvaged Arsenal's season.
He has had to fight adversity throughout the campaign, starting with last summer's sale of talisman Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and continuing with the tumultuous departure of Samir Nasri in the closing stages of that window, along with the embarrassing 8-2 reverse at Manchester United.
Arsenal's form soon picked up but they were brought crashing down to earth in early 2012 with an FA Cup loss to Sunderland and a woeful showing in the Champions League in Milan, who they lost to 4-0.
Those losses led many to declare the end was nigh for Wenger, but he has proved in recent weeks - in fact most of the league campaign - that he is certainly still the right man for the job at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal haven't won a trophy since 2005 and that is the main criticism levelled at Wenger, but he deserves more time for everything he has delivered for the Gunners.
Three Premier League titles and four FA Cups make Wenger the most decorated manager in Arsenal's history in terms of trophies and his win percentage is the best of any Arsenal manager.
The signs are there that the tide is now turning and a new period of success could be just around the corner for the Gunners.
A third-placed finish would be a major success this season given the start they had and the criticism that has been levelled at them throughout the campaign, while young players such as Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Ryo Miyaichi offer great hope for the future.
Arsenal are currently on a run of five straight wins in all competitions and are arguably the most in-form side - along with Manchester United - in the Premier League, so suddenly all doubts about Wenger are beginning to subside.
The probable summer acquisition of German international Lukas Podolski has offered fans even more optimism for next season, while in Robin van Persie Arsenal have one of the best strikers in the world.
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| van Persie has scored 33 goals for Arsenal in all competitions so far this season |
The turning point in their form was the recovery from 2-0 down to defeat arch rivals Tottenham 5-2, while the 3-0 second leg victory over Milan must have given them a tremendous amount of belief.
They are now looking more like the old Arsenal, capable of turning on the style and shutting out games in equal measure, and no team will want to play them now.
Manchester City must be dreading their visit to the Emirates in early-April as it is hard to see Arsenal losing in their current form and mindset.
The form of van Persie is obviously the catalyst for Arsenal's upturn in fortunes, as his goalscoring return has been simply incredible.
If the club were to lose him in the summer, they would find him almost impossible to replace but if the Dutchman is still with the Gunners next season, they could be a genuine force in the Premier League.
If they keep him, they will certainly enter next season in a much better frame of mind than they entered this one, and a strong start could lead to a title challenge.
With their youngsters another year more experienced, van Persie still banging in the goals and stars like Podolski (and possibly more) adding to the squad, they could be a genuine challenger.
The losses of Fabregas and Nasri are now all but forgotten given Arsenal's current form and if they can finish the season in the same vein, it would give them tremendous confidence heading into next year.
This season looked like being a write-off but is now set to end brilliantly with a top-three placing and automatic qualification for next season's Champions League for Arsenal.
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| Arsenal are looking good for a top three finish after a 1-0 win at Everton |
At one point, it looked inevitable they would miss out on the top four and finish a long way behind neighbours Tottenham, but they now look like re-establishing themselves as North London's - indeed the whole of the capital's - top team and Wenger deserves a massive amount of credit for that.
He won't win the manager of the year gong, but he deserves some recognition for how he has turned it around.
Wenger has an awful lot left to give and it is clear the players have never doubted him, so the future is looking bright again for Arsenal.
With a bit of summer spending and - perhaps more crucially - the retainment of van Persie, next season may be a vintage one for Arsenal.
This campaign may not go down as one of those, but it will be one Wenger will look back on with a lot of pride, providing they finish the season in the position they are in now.
Arsenal may not have won a trophy this season, but the work they have done to turn their fortunes around should reap dividends in the future.
They look to have turned the corner and that is down to Wenger.
Those who called for his head just a few short weeks ago must now be eating their words.
I love Wenger, but saying that he deserves the award is like saying a captain of a boat in a race should be given a medal, just because after he pierced a hole in the ship with an axe, he managed to close it somehow and still arrive at the port.
ReplyDeleteI acknowledge that what we are seeing in this part of the season is a bloody miracle, but your post could work only if another Arsenal manager decided to sell Cesc and Nasri, was then fired after the beginning of the season and Wenger came and save the day.
You are seriously taking the mick right?
ReplyDeleteIt's down to Wenger we were put in this position in the first place. He didn't get the reinforcements which were crying out for in the summer and instead made 5 'panic' buys on the last day of transfer day. You have a very lobsided view of 'success'.
Had he bought the players in the positions we needed that every fan, pundit, ex-player, ex-manager, even opposition fans can see - he wouldn't be in this hole in the first place.
And I really can't see how someone is trying to give him credit for it. We used to challenge for league titles - it seems 4th is our 'trophy' now and has been for far too long. But I welcome your argumnet / debate.
"You are seriously taking the mick right?
DeleteIt's down to Wenger we were put in this position in the first place" - I'm guessing you have no idea of the irony of that statement with regards to Wenger and Arsenal?
Yes it's down to Wenger, down to Wenger that we are not in the same position as Everton are at the moment & Spurs have been for most of the last 20 years. Because make no mistake we were in the same boat as they were when he took over.
Instead of their fate we got 2 Doubles, an unbeaten season all whilst playing a style of football that is famous the world over(and that we thought we'd never see at Arsenal), more trophies and Henry, Pires, Vieira etc etc and we're a million miles ahead of them off the field too. Spurs will find out how hard it was for us when they start building their stadium.
Nobody could have forseen the rise of Chelsea and City but without a net spend surplus between the years 2002-12 he has kept us in the top 4 and competitive for most of that period.
The summer was mismanaged by the club, not just by Wenger and if you're saying the buck stops with him for bad results well then it stops with him for this good run of results also.
You do realise the players Wenger wanted last summer were Gotze, Hazard, M'Vila?? How easy do you think it is to go just 'get' these players?? Would you prefer if we'd spunked all our money away on shit like Downing, Adam & Carroll like Liverpool have done because these players were out of reach?
What Wenger has done with his 'panic' buys, seeing as the players who could really have replaced Fabregas & Nasri were not available, is bring a level of professionalism, quality & experience to the club. And we're seeing that now that we're getting players back from injury.
We will finish 3rd this season above Liverpool & Chelsea who have massively outspent us, we will keep van Persie and we still have money to go after players that will really add extra quality to the squad we have. If we get Podolski and 1 more player of quality we will be very very close next season.
And then our sponsorship & kit deals will be up for renewal and we'll have another extra 30 odd million to add to the squad per season.
The work that Wenger has done these last 5 years(with no cash at least up until the Arsenal Stadium flats were sorted out) will be looked upon as crucial with the benefit of hindsight.
Those without vision, spoiled by the success and standards that Wenger has set for the club, will demand his head. We would have fucking sunk without trace these last 5 years with Arsene.
*without Arsene!
DeleteI think Wenger and Arsenal's recent resurgence is even more impressive given the number of "supporters" out there who sound like Marko.
ReplyDeleteLet's not go all black and white here, friend.
DeleteStrategically speaking, the awful transfer policy this summer was the reason we were 17th at the end of September.
We will never know how much did Wenger had to do with the selling and the late purchases as a result, but the fact stands that if you are a manager of any company, you should take both credit and responsibility.
And I also supported Arsenal and Wenger when we were beaten 4-3 and 8-2, so let's not get all judgmental even before get to know each other.
Marko, who's being judgmental? Do you know what was happening behind the scenes regarding the transfers of Cesc and Nasri and the so called panic purchases that occurred at the end of August? You don't and I don't so to blame Wenger for what occurred is a bit unfair. Nasri and Cesc clearly screwed the club and since we aren't funded by a billionaire we were trying to get the most money for them while also getting the best deals for new players.
DeleteWe look good because Chelsea,spurs and newcastle started playing shit. Wenger is still to blame. He should have stuck to his guns with cesc. Made him see out his contract. Put an end to player power.
ReplyDeleteHe also should have brought in a defender in Jan with experience. We could have kept the scoreline down in the san siro. Gary Cahill would have being a step up from squillachi and djourou .
If Wenger had 'stuck to his guns' then Fabregas could have paid off the rest of his contract and left for less. Gary Cahill is nowhere near as good as Koscielny or Vermaelen and was asking 120k a week.
DeleteYou should check these things up before making yourself look a twat on the internet
We all like metal but when you have a look into spending power, we are far behind else teams. I don't see this is a good season. I don't see AW is good enough to be manager of the year. I think we should be able and should sign Parker. I think we should play OX earlier and more. But.... When you see Liverpool and Chelsea have spent so much money this year while turn out such a shit performance while we are forced to sell two key players but still able to win some big matches, getting more solid especially back four, and have such a promising team, with the limited available resource, AW has already done a good job and we should pay credit to him.
ReplyDeletewhat do you want more from the team, they are doing well at the moment, i admit they had bad start, and wenger was wrong, but now lets stay behind them, and support them to defend thier position in the table, and qualify for champion league, and iam sure wenger learn a big lesson from last year and won't repeat the same mistake.
ReplyDeleteWenger's panic buys. Name me one of them that hasn't or doesn't have the potential to work out? Why do we have to have the fans who say the dumbest things?
ReplyDelete