The End of the Road for Arsenal As We Know Them? | Thebigtip

Football fans were given a treat on Sunday, as the masses who tuned into the Manchester United verse Arsenal game collectively dropped their jaws to the ground. Two of the giants of English football, often battling on a knife-edge of pressure, but this time the plot was different, the genre altered. It was no longer a thriller, it was now a horror, Arsenal the victims, Arsene Wenger the tortured soul and Manchester United the masked avengers!

Losing 8-2 to anyone is alarming in football, but to do so to your biggest rival is borderline suicide. It strips away at the walls of a club like acid. It erases confidence, puts doubt in the players mind, affects the intensity of the fans in the terraces and gets everyone looking for someone to blame. Invariably, the finger is always pointed at the manager, but Arsenal is different. You only need look across London at Chelsea to see a very different philosophy to accountability in action. The Chelsea manager merry-go-round is almost as impressive a tourist attraction as the London Eye. Arsenal have gone six years without silverware however, and look certain to make it a seventh. Questions are starting to circulate around Arsene Wenger, and his ability as manager of Arsenal. Is his time finally up?

Arsene Wenger has had it good in the English Premier League. It is highly doubtful any other clubs in England, perhaps even Europe, would still have kept Wenger employed. The longer he has remained the more untouchable he seems to have become. It is almost as if he is Arsenal. There is no doubting his talents. His teams entertain with a sublime brand of football, but not an effective one. His players are leaving, typically labelling Wenger as a second father, but these players don’t need a father, they need a manager who will drive them to success. Wenger appears to have lost this power.

There is no doubt Arsenal love their reputation as the team who “play beautiful football”. There is a risk that will change when Wenger leaves, and perhaps this creates paranoia? One man is not bigger than a club however, and on the back of such a shameful display against Manchester United, it seems clear something needs to change. The one thing left to change, is the manager. Would a new voice resonate with the young Gunners?

Nothing lasts forever, and although Wenger has been good for Arsenal, his time is up. He won’t want to leave the club on the back of a six year trophy drought, but the club need to ensure that same drought does not continue as well. There are several managers ready and waiting to take on the challenge of filling Wenger’s shoes. Mark Hughes and Martin O’Neal would represent a complete culture change in North London, but could they spark a renaissance? Perhaps Dennis Bergkamp or Thierry Henry are the men to lead Arsenal back to the top?

It seems clear that Arsenal is going nowhere under Wenger. Players are leaving for clubs that are not afraid to reach deep into their pockets. Wenger has two options, splash the cash and rebuild a solid Arsenal, or pack his bags and ride off into the sunset. The latter may suit him more.

Who would your choice be if Wenger left? Should Wenger leave? What does Arsenal need to do to get past their problems? Have your say below!

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