According to reports today, Arsene Wenger is on the verge of agreeing a 2-year extension to his contract with Arsenal and then move ‘upstairs’ into a similar role carried out by David Dein.
David Dein is the man credited with finding Wenger, a manager relatively unknown in England before his arrival in 1996. To cut a long story short, it was the greatest signing in Arsenal history.
In 2007, after many years of service with Arsenal, David Dein controversially left the club with immediate effect because of “irreconcilable differences” with the rest of the board members over the takeover of another foreign billionaire businessman.
Many fans have cited the departure of Dein as the prime factor for Arsenal’s trophyless period. Dein and Wenger had a wonderful friendship and were instrumental in scouting and signing unknown talent for a bargain price. These signings propelled Arsenal to new heights.
The positives and the negatives
So what exactly will be Arsene Wenger’s new role if these reports are true? David Dein was the vice Chairman at Arsenal from 1983 to 2007. In that time, he oversaw transfer dealings and contract negotiations and used his sporting contacts to increase Arsenal’s global network.
He was instrumental in the appointment of Arsene Wenger and together they brought a new era and new philosophy to Arsenal F.C. They transformed Highbury, changed the style of play and introduced a world wide scouting network to find the best young talents on offer.
But is it necessarily a healthy option for Arsenal? In 2 years’ time, Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal will be a whopping 19 years; a tremendous achievement. If Wenger loses his next 130 games, he would still have the highest win ratio of any previous Arsenal manager.
No matter what happens, Wenger will be a club legend. He will be forever known as one of the greatest managers in football history and some fans still do not fully appreciate Wenger’s achievements.
However, many have labeled Wenger as ‘unsackable.’ And I have to agree. The board would never sack Wenger, and it would have to come down to mutual termination. Wenger is so unsackable he even appointed his own boss; Ivan Gazidis.
But if Wenger did decide to go upstairs and let a new, brave manager takeover at the Emirates, I feel he would still have a massive influence on the club. Some would say that is a good thing, others the opposite.
Right now, I do not want to see Wenger leave the touch side. He has recently, in a very convincing fashion, defeated the 11th Tottenham manager he has come up against and stamped his superiority over our local rivals.
However, I think Wenger and the board should wait until the end of the season where they can discuss more comfortably about Wenger’s position. Wenger is going nowhere. A manager’s contract is different to a players contract and there is no fear that Wenger will run off to Paris for a triple pay rise.
There is still Sagna’s contract to be sorted, and in all honesty, I think he will decide to move on. The club also needs to press on and find another striker to assist Olivier Giroud for the second half of the season.
For now, lets all just focus on winning a trophy.
Conclusion
It is a great time to be an Arsenal fan and there is every possibility of winning some silverware this season. The club is top of the Premier League, through to the fourth round of the FA Cup after defeating Spurs, and once again into the knockout stages of the Champions League. So far, so good.
Personally, I think Wenger has longer than two years left in him. If he has still got the energy he should carry on for as long as possible.
With the signing of Mesut Ozil, Arsenal has turned a corner. With cash reserves over £150 million Arsenal have plenty of money to spend on new players and I believe Wenger will splash in the summer on a couple of quality players.
At the end of the day, Wenger knows best.
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