Arsene Wenger’s Career: A success or A failure?

Arsene Wenger’s Career: A success or A failure?

The curtains finally close on Arsene Wenger’s 22 years reign on Arsenal. The team will play their final home game against Burnley. Arsene Wenger is planned to receive a guard of honor from both teams. Subsequently, it is planned that the players will be wearing a t-shirt saying “merci Arsene”.  When Arsene Wenger takes his final step off the Emirates Stadium, there will be lot of applauding.  However, the question on everyone’s mind will be: Are these claps of sorrow or are these claps of joy?

“I am very very sad”, was the response of Arsene Wenger after his team were knocked out of the Europa League semi-finals. Arsenal played far below what we expected from them. The attackers failed to find the back of the net, the midfielders disappeared, and the defense was in scrambles. When the referee blew the final whistle, Arsenal fans experienced the same feeling they had felt for many years in a row now: another session without any trophies.

However, it was not always like this. Let’s rewind the clock to 1^st October 1996. Arsenal fans are shocked with the signing of the new manager. The manager had been managing small clubs in France and Germany and was virtually unknown in England. The manager went by the name of Arsene Wenger.

Arsene Wenger made quite a name for himself as just a year after his arrival, he won a “double” (the double is when a club wins a league title and the domestic cup in the same year).  In 2002-2003, he won another double. In the next season (2003-2004), Arsene surprised everyone by winning the double again. In doing so, Arsene became the first manager in premier league history to win the double back to back. What was even more surprising about the 2003-2004 season was that the team managed to win the league undefeated.  They were considered to be the “invincible”.  The biggest reason for Arsenal’s success was that Wenger introduced many things the Premier league had never seen before; new diets, new nutrition and many new play styles of football.

Everything seemed to be perfect for Mr. Wenger. There were beautiful banners displaying “In Wenger We Trust”.

However, the joy of success was short-lived,

For 9 years (2006-2014), Arsenal FC failed to win a single cup.  Some say that it was because Arsene had a very tight budget or was unlucky with his players leaving at the wrong time. Others say that Arsene failed to adapt and implement new tactics into the squad. However, there is no single reason for why the “Invincibles” became “Invisibles”.

One thing which did not change for Wenger was his talent to “find the rubies inside the dirt”. Throughout his career he brought many young talented players such as Patrick Vieira, Nicolas Anelka, Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and many others. With the help of Wenger, these players eventually went on to become world-class footballers and created many records.

So, was Wenger’s career a success or a failure? It depends on how you look at it…

Bring trophies to the club? A failure. He started off with a banger, but it eventually fizzled out.

Regarding the practices (nutritious diets and new tactics) he brought to game, it was definitely a success. The practices that he implemented into the game is still used by major teams today.

Finally, no matter how successful or unsuccessful you consider Wenger’s career to be, to stay in a club for 22 years is a true act of unwavering loyalty. Wenger has definitely created a legacy which will never be forgotten by football fans.

Personally, I think he was a success, because I value the practices he bought to the game more than the trophies he won for the club.