By Robert Haynes
Source: Liverpool FC via Facebook
Every dog has his day and Arsene Wenger’s has been and gone. Three FA Cup final victories have boosted his stock as Arsenal manager but it is the right moment for the club to move on. Wenger failed to prepare his side for their Carabao Cup final clash with Manchester City and not one Arsenal fan would claim that the Gunners deserved to win. Arsenal were second-best in every department and Pep Guardiola’s side were well worth their 3-0 success.
In the days that have followed that February defeat, a few potential successors have been branded about. Jurgen Klopp? Arguably the ideal replacement but it is hard to see Arsenal prizing him away from Anfield at this moment in time – Liverpool are well-placed to push on and build under Klopp. Thomas Tuchel and Diego Simeone have been linked with the role but questions over whether their managerial style fits the philosophy of the club.
One name that continues to crop up is Brendan Rodgers. The former Liverpool manager, now in charge of Scottish champions Celtic, has Premier League experience but is he the right fit for Arsenal? In many ways, yes. The Gunners could do a lot worse than Rodgers; opting for the Celtic boss would be a better option than sticking with Wenger for another year. In addition, he has over 150 matches of Premier League experience; an absolute must for most of England’s elite clubs.
According to the official Premier League website, Rodgers won 75 of his 160 matches in charge of Liverpool – giving him a 47% win ratio at Anfield. Comparatively, Wenger has a much better win rate; the Frenchman has led Arsenal to victory in 58% of his 817 games at the helm. Also, Rodgers was helped by Luis Suarez, a world-class talent and one of the best strikers in top-flight history, during his Merseyside reign.
Arsenal have slipped out of the fight for a top four finish in recent weeks; the Gunners are 13 points behind arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur, also in FA Cup contention this season. Coming outside the top four is bad enough but finishing lower than Spurs, 6/1 to win England’s oldest club competition in FA Cup betting odds, for a second successive campaign is worse. There will be plenty of angry Arsenal supporters around if Spurs finish in the top four AND win the FA Cup.
For Arsenal, appointing Rodgers at the helm would be a high risk, high reward move. Fans would be split on his arrival; some have claimed that the Celtic boss has the credentials to return to the Premier League whilst others believe that he has found his level in Scotland’s top flight. With all due respect to the Scottish Premiership, the quality of football north of the border is relatively poor compared to England’s primary division.
Thierry Henry? Not enough experience. Patrick Vieira? More experience but not at a high level. Still, fans would relish their passion and commitment to the club – a change is needed to shake things up. Rodgers isn’t a long-term fix by any means but for now, he is an upgrade on an ageing Wenger and Arsenal fans would surely be more supportive of their new boss.
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Mikel Arteta.
Perfect fit post-Wenger, whether he’s short- or long-term (based on results).
jw1
Clearly you can write, and I can see a career in comedy ahead of you.
It would split the fans into those that were still sploshing through the primordial swamp and struggled with the concept of shoe laces, and everybody else.
Rodgers wouldn’t even be an upgrade on my 1985 maestro.
“The Gunners could do a lot worse than Rodgers; opting for the Celtic boss would be a better option than sticking with Wenger for another year. ”
I’m sorry, but what are you basing that on, exactly? You can’t just make an utterly baseless claim like that and say it as if it was a bonafide fact. Personally, I think Rodgers has an ugly personality and I most certainly would not like to see managing Arsenal.
“Every dog has his day and Jurgen Klopp’s has been and gone. Three trophyless seasons have downgraded his stock as Liverpool manager so it is the right moment for the club to move on. Klopp failed to prepare his side for their Champions League quarter final clash with Manchester City and not one Liverpool fan would claim that the Reds deserved to win. Liverpool were second-best in every department and Pep Guardiola’s side were well worth their success.”
Flares – beautifully twisted round!
When I read the title, I thought we were in for the shortest recorded article in history (No!).
Sadly not.
Mikel Arteta? NO!!! His lack of beliefs in Arsenal and in Arsene Wenger led him to go to Man City to linkup with his fellow countryman, Pep Guardiola when the opportunity to be the 2nd assistant manager/coach to the manager was on the table at the Emirates Stadiun for him to grab but he declined the offer.
Brendan Rodgers? NO!!!!!!! He was a Liverpool sacked manager for his failing to win the PL Title when he has the golden opportunity to do so. More so, as he had the reigning top PL goals poacher, Luis Suarez at his disposal to win the League Title then, but he didn’t. And besides, this is a man that once said “Arsenal is a small club” during that Arsenal £40m + £1 transfer fee bid episode to sign Luis Suarez from Liverpool. So, how can Brendan Rodgers now come to a small club like Arsenal to manage it? And had a former Reds manager ever managed the Gunners before? If not, why now since we are rival club sides that hardly see eye to eye? Has even a Reds’ player ever transfered to the Gunners in the Old First Division and Premier League eras. Well, I don’t know but I believe Mr Tony Attwood will know.
Who will be the next Arsenal manager if Le Boss leaves at the end of this season could become a saga. But let’s wait to see if he’ll win the Europa League Cup this season to make him have a strong case of having his current contract deal at the club extended by 2 additional years to run to the end of 2021 season. Thus, putting into the cooler the appointment of a new Arsenal manager for now.
But if he doesn’t win the ELC this season but makes a 6th or 7th place finish in the table to qualify again for the ELC next season, but has to go at the instance of Stan Kroenke who calls the shot at Arsenal. Or he voluntarily tendered his resignation to go, then of course Arsenal have to appoint a new manager. And that new person could be Steve Bould whose managerial caliber at managing the Gunners to win the PL Title next season if he’s appointed should not be underestimated. Because this is a man who has played successfully at the club before for many years and also coached the Arsenal U21 team before Le Boss appointed him as his assistant manager. For an orderly transition, I think appointing Bould will be better.
But in the absent of appointing Steve Bould, why not appoint Antony Conte who has a Premier League Title win experience if he’s available? He could repeat his 2016-17 PL Title win at Chelsea at Arsenal. Since its the PL Title win and the CL Title win also are the 2 most sort after Title wins all the Gooners are after to see Arsenal win at this moment in time, appointing Conte could see us achieve our ambitions. But I must add that much money must be made available to him to sign the players he wants to play for Arsenal to win the Title.
Samuel? I respectfully disagree.
I think Arteta did precisely the best thing he could do– by going to Man City. In preparing himself for the next step– managing a club? He can put on his CV to have studied (and played) under two of the most innovative and successful managers in world football.
The advantage in real-time? Is having a now-protege of Pep to understand how he trains, governs, and prepares his club– a head-to-head rival that Arsenal will be battling for the next several years.
Sorry. I don’t the downside in sentimental terms.
jw1
**see
Brendan Rogers?
NO!
The provocativeness of this article’s title makes me suspect click bait, which I find rather surprising considering Untold Arsenal’s high standards in this respect.
Nevertheless I’ll bite and say that Rogers would be completely unacceptable to the majority of Arsenal’s fan base.
He has a reasonable track record at Liverpool (second wasn’t it?) and of course the easy time with Celtic, but c’mon now….Rogers? LOL.
I was going to comment on this nonsense then decided it was too stupid to even bother.
Having read Flares post I’m so glad I didn’t.
Brilliant.
Brendan Rogers?
HELL NO!
He’s a second rate manager in a second (almost 3rd) rate league.
Beg your pardon, but who is this fella talking about putting Brendan in the Arsene Wenger hot seat? This must be a joke, joke, joke joke, joke, joke, UA please don’t insult the faithfuls on this blog with a post that is positively anti-all you say on your masthead. In the comments section it would have fitted ok but as a main post? No sir! You blew it this time. For a moment there I thought I had stumbled on a wrong site.
Talking about AW being ‘past it’, is one of the dumbest things I have heard said about any competent professional regardless of age. The author backed his post with evidence that is highly skewed in favor of Rogers and I completely disagree with his premises or conclusion. I could go on and on; suffice to say that it was a blunder and should be averted in the future.
If the post was lifted from a Liverpool or Celtic source then we need to be told. Was it the picture that came from Liverpool Facebook page or the post or both?
Bobome
Maybe it was an April fool accidentally posted 10 days early.
If it was I must say it’s a very good one.
I must agree that there would be very few, if any, supporters who would support the premise.
Perhaps, as a Liverpool supporter, it would be ideal to keep us out of the way.
I reckon the next manager has already been sourced and ready to come next year.
PASS !
Your starting line displays your ignorance about Wenger. Wenger’s is not a day but decades of quality in every aspect of football club management. He is after all a multilingual educated man. This sets him above your intelligence.
There were a few coaches that trained together, Martinez, Rogers & a few others. They all learned about the Wenger method including the diets etc. Their success is based on that learning. They would reduce Arsenal to a lower standard but might have a better response from PGMOL. To me PGMOL & their bosses the FA are key to football success.
Arteta would probably be amongst the best replacement if & when Wenger decides to ‘move upstairs’ within the club. He has a ggod character & has learnt from the best.
There is a long time for that change to happen as Wenger is not going anywhere soon.
Pulis and Alladyce would be better managers for us than Rogers … and no I don’t want them either !!!
Seriously Tony, how did this one make it through the editorial process ???