This is just a thought I had due to Guardiola putting things on hold until 2013. It seems that Roman is desperate to get this guy for Chelsea but what if Wenger finishes this season with a top 4 finish and no trophies. Would you want pep to take over or continue with our great manager. I think Pep would bring a new strategy from the training ground to the pitch. The structure at Arsenal would suit him perfectly and he would have the freedom to mould the club into his vision. This is all pure fantasy of course but what if it could be a reality. Who would you choose? A fresh new approach that wouldn't deviate too much from our current philosophy or continue in the relatively safe hands of Wenger?
No. he's never managed a side that didn't have Lionel Messi in it. The closest we have to that is Per Messisacker (see the Montpellier game). He has no experience in the PL, he's limited tactically etc. He'll be a major flop in this league, if Chelsea had sense they'd get Mourinho back. Wenger>>Guardiola.
Im not sure how much of a 'fresh new approach' Pep would bring ? At the moment I'm more interested in what Wenger can do if, as Gazidis has said, the cash from the Emirates deal means we can spend some money on the squad.
Do you really think Guardiola would not be suitable for the premier league? I think this is underestimating his ability. If Wenger went to Real Madrid I'm sure he would be a success there. So why not pep in the premier league? I believe the Barca team he made so great would have been great with any of the top 5 managers in the world at the helm. His aura was that he was such a great player at natIonal and club level and the players already respected him greatly. In terms of identifying and promoting youth I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone as good as Wenger but Pep isn't far off.
Piskie is our problem that we don't have vast amounts to spend on a top quality player like city or Chelsea would or is it that our wage structure does not fall in line with what the other 'top 3' are willing to pay their players. The reason I say this is because it's the reason we have lost Ashley cole (we haven't won a trophy since he left), Nasri ( a **** I know) but a useful player while he was with us and clichy. Not sure if Song should be included in that list.
A bit of both. If this new deal with Emirates gives us an extra £30m per season, then we'll be able to improve on both fronts.
There's another way to look at it. Barca are doing just fine with Villanova in charge, which makes you wonder, is it the manager or the players? I'm leaning towards the latter. Pep would be a risk for any team, as i previously stated, he's never managed outside the Spanish Primera, and there is a big gulf in quality between the Liga Primera and the Premier League. A Mid table LP side would be equivalent to a lower PL/Upper championship english side. Mourinho succeeded because he had money, and tactical nous, and enough arrogance/self belief. Guardiola is more reserved, we don't have Chelsea's spending power, and Barca are like us in the past, they lack a Plan B.
In my opinion i think that Wenger has gone stale with Arsenal and simply run into a wall with them. Yes we seem to be in a stable state, as he gets us 4th place consistently. But the team itself doesn't look any better a few years ago than it does today. It seems to be plagued with the same problems then as it does now. I have plenty of respect for him and what he's done, but he's trying so desperately to prove his philosophy correct, that he doesn't see the mistakes/problems Arsenal are facing. We've also been fortunate that no other team has been good enough to get that coveted 4th spot, but we shouldn't take that for granted. I think Guardiola would be a perfect fit for us. People are criticizing him for managing a really good club like Barcelona. If you look closely, it's the small things he's done for them that made them so unbeatable. Simple things like high work rate, closing down, concentration etc, things that Arsenal lack. We just don't do the simple things right sometimes and this is something he would improve us on. We have a decent team but need that kick up the backside to perform consistently. Wenger has made an all too comfy environment for everyone.
No I wouldn't. It is just my opinion but I just don't think that his system would be a hit in the premier league.
I agree with Toledo in that its the small things that pep implemented which made a difference to Barca. Ok so they may have been a one trick pony but what a trick! I have to say that this is the first season in a long time where we mix our style a lot more but you have to give Wenger credit for this and possibly the introduction of bould's defensive policy has played a part in this. I don't think Guardiola is a risk at all. Your talking about a manager who knows the blueprint for a great team and understands what it takes to win trophies. In my opinion this is something Arsenal need. Can we still get it with Wenger? Only time will tell i guess. I have to add that I love Wenger but I just wanted to get some opinion on how people feel about him at present. I think in truth most arsenal fans are so used to Wenger that the possibility of change is terrifying.
Yes. Absolutely. Wenger is a genius but you have to be an idiot to doubt Giardiola. This was his firsts managerial job and look what he achieved. Sure he inherited a good squad but still he won every trophy he could and had the team playing absolutely beautiful football attacking football in the process. The guy is a genius.
This is a difficult one to answer. On the one hand we have Wenger who has been running the club on a budget in recent years and not won anything. The new deals on the stadium and kit could add £millions to his budget for players which may be enough for him to get us competing for top honours again rather than just CL qualification, or as indicated above is he past it? On the other hand we have Guardiola who took over at an established top team in Spain with one of the biggest budgets in football. He took this established team and took them to another level as the best ever club team in the world and is still only 41. How many other manager have done so well at such a young age? But could he do it taking over at Arsenal with a limited budget and in a more intense league? Both options have arguements for and against and we will never know which option is best because they cant both be the manager at the same time to compare. Im more concerned about investment in the team and being prepared to pay the wages required to keep top players. Until we can do that we will not be the best team around as the likes of Money City and Chavski will just tap up our players and unsettle them. FFP may be our best chance rather than worrying about which manager we have.
No way IMO. Pep is wengers splitting image in terms of philosophy sans transfer markets expertise. At any rate wenger deserves loyalty after all he's done for us and all the clubs he's rejected. Hypothetical anyways I feel as I've mentioned before wenger was hardly a renowned figure in the managerial world before he joined arsenal. A similar experience is likely with our next manager.
I wouldn't take him. He inherited one of the best sides world football has ever seen. Until he's assembled a team & done well I wouldn't want him. He needs to prove he has it with transfers too.
You have a point but those simple things that as you rightly say differ us from Barca , namely work rate, concentration, closing down etc can be maintained in the Spanish league where half of the Barca games are effectively just training drills. If you look closer they show a lot of lapses of concentration and allow a much lower work rate against lower teams. They have the luxury to concentrate on a relatively small number of domestic matches and CL. EPL is a completely different ball game, a permanent god fight. I think Guardiola can do well in EPL, but I really doubt he can really challenge for trophies with Arsenal, unless we spend and spend.
Wenger + great squad = trophies. The 'great squad' part of this equation has been lacking since 2004. If we can finally start strengthening adequately then I think we owe Wenger a chance to prove he still has what it takes.
I agree with you 100% Most football fans think of Kenny Dalglish as a joke after Liverpool's performances last season.I would ask people to look at Dalglish's record as Liverpool manager between 1985 & 1991.The difference in Dalglish's record is because when he became Liverpool manager in 1985 he had the backroom staff in place e.g Ronnie Moran & Roy Evans and he also had the players.All he had to do was add to the squad. I think the Dalglish situation in 1985 is very similar to Guardiola becoming manager of Barcelona
I disagree, we've had some very good squads in those 7 years but failed to win ANYTHING. At the end of the day, Wenger must take some blame for the squads he creates and puts out. As it stands, our current squad isn't that bad at all. We have internationals of good quality throughout the squad. Compare our squad with Man United and there isn't much in it, apart from RVP. We SHOULD be doing better.
