Arsene Wenger: A Damaged Legacy?

Great post and well written.

Wenger’s legacy is a conflicted one with me, i still think he could have achieved a lot more especially in his prime years with that awesome side of the early 2000’s, another PL title and a CL one for starters. Also felt he broke up that side far too quickly for my liking. But overall he was successful during his first ten years or so. He did a lot of good for this club and it shouldn’t be overlooked as many have said.

I think his last few years with Arsenal shouldn’t be ignored either which I think die hard lovers and the history books will skip over. He’s let us down on many fronts, poor tactics, letting our best players go without much of a fight, selling some off to rivals, been stingy in the transfer market, been loyal to below average talent, playing right into managers hands with his read it by the book style of play. You could go on with his massive mistakes, also feel he’s been a right arrogant and stubborn old man in the past few seasons that took the shine off him for me. I think he should have stepped down the day we won the FA cup agaisn’t Hull but alas his ego couldn’t let him.

Was once a great manager but now a shell of himself sadly. Definitely a damaged legacy sadly.

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Youd have to say his european legacy has been poor and will always count against him in arguments with other top managers now and past.

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Since managers are different to players can you please point me in the direction of all these managers that have been able to remain at the highest level consistently topping their pears for a couple decades?

With icecream…mmmnnn yummy :stuck_out_tongue:

just kidding with ya :kosc:

Ginola and Cantona come to mind. Foreign transfers also really came about with Bosman in 1995. Until that point only three foreign players per team were allowed. So it’s maybe a bit much to contribute that to Wenger.

Well it shouldn’t even be in question. He is leaving the club in turmoil instead of leaving the club in a promising position and with dignity. More than half of his tenure has been a comprehensive failure and has set the club back a long way. For these reasons his legacy should absolutely be damaged. It isn’t at all logical to have a perfect legacy based on his overall record. Having said that, it is still a remarkable legacy and his tremendous achievements and impact on the industry in this country will be etched in history.

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Probably not because they were pretty fucking good for those respective teams.

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like @morrisc311 said, Jordan and Montana were still good when playing for Wizards and Chiefs. Fans knew they were just winding up their careers, not expecting them to win anything, nothing serious. They never sold any false dreams to the fans that they would win the title(s).

Don’t compare them to Wenger.

Not true of Montana, he had them going deep into the playoffs every year he was there.

Any comparison with Fergie has gone now. Use to be in the argument but probably lost on a european shout.
Now though he doesnt make the argument. Fergie went out a5 the top like the greatest do in any sport. Wenger is whimping out bottling a title to Leciester and being humiliated in europe and fans hating him.
Wont and shouldnt over shadow his legacy but it has become the final chapter of it.

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I can’t see how his legacy hasn’t been damaged if I’m honest. As good as some of the things he has accomplished may well be, there are far too many failures for his legacy to not have taken a bit of a hit.

His record in Europe over the last 20 years has been a failure. A pretty big one at that. It was inexcusable how we didn’t do better in Europe during the Invincibles era, and also inexcusable how much we’ve struggled over the last 7/8 years.

The fact that he’s made it past the quarter finals only twice in nearly 20 seasons in Europe is unforgivable given some of the teams we’ve had.

And I’ll say it now, you can’t erase the good stuff but you also can’t erase the bad stuff and it’s just sheer ignorance to assess his legacy without factoring in the bad stuff too.

If you can praise the first 10 years and use that when assessing his legacy then I have no doubt the subsequent 11 years must be used too.

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I think his legacy is indeed damaged, and the longer he stays in the game, so much more that is going to be reaffirmed. And I think the damage he has brought onto his own legacy is so great and irreversible that it will actually shade over all of his accomplishments and contributions to the club and football in general, casting doubt and questions over whether what he achieved wasn’t actually indeed just chance rather than any form of ingenuity.

Yes, he will be remembered as the manager who, if ended seems too strong a word, at least challenged and rivaled Man United’s undisputed reign over English football in the 90’s. The manager who changed the English game forever. But thanks to 11 years of stubbornness and obscurity, you have to ask yourself the question whether it was indeed Arsene who brought change with him, or he was simply a symbol of change, the right person at the right time in an already evolving, globalizing world, of football including.

There is a saying that goes something like this: “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”. In that accord, Wenger is a stupid, stupid man. And that stupidity of his, i.e his absolute inability to change and adapt to the modern game, gives enough reasonable doubt to question his greatness back in the day.

What Wenger achieved with this club will always stay and be remembered. But how and why he achieved it is now under scrutiny. He will be a fool to stay in the game come the end of the season, but that is exactly his weakness, his foolishness and self-believe, which is why I fully expect him to sign on or at least move to another club, where, in my opinion, he will only reaffirm what an outdated and lacking manager he is.

The fact is that we have reached the tipping point where he is already unwanted, and only fools stay where they are unwanted. When unwanted, politicians resign, husbands divorce, and football managers should quit. Hopefully Arsene has at least as much common sense left in that old, senile head of his.

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Have we signed a striker yet?

What’s the hurry?
We’ve only just sold RVP.

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There hasn’t been anyone available anyway so I don’t know why I’m moaning.

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Definitely he is fucking up his legacy.

Time to say good bye.

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He’s pulling a Brian Clough and staying too long at the party…

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Let’s be honest, his legacy is DAMAGED. It’s done. When he leaves, and he will eventually, if I am still alive, I will be more relieved than thankful.

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Yeah he’s defiantly damaged his legacy, he needed to leave about 5 years ago for it to be barely damaged.