Arsenal fans respect Arsene Wenger but we’re more relieved he is going

Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Tim Payton4 May 2018

Arsenal are pulling out all the stops for Arsene Wenger’s last home game, even giving every single fan a T-shirt, and he certainly deserves recognition and thanks. But beyond this staged farewell the attitude of most fans is one of thank goodness change has finally come.

The feeling of the fellow fans I talk to about his departure is one of respect and gratitude but much more it’s a feeling of relief and about time.

Sunday’s game isn’t really about the match or the result, it is about saying goodbye and thank you to Arsene Wenger. It is also the beginning of a new start at Arsenal and optimism that things will be better next season.

A future in which we hope that a new manager will bring a different and improved approach that will elevate Arsenal to the top of the game again.

Most fans felt, and wanted, this to be Wenger’s last season. In a survey the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust conducted earlier this season 88 per cent said he should leave. In the end it was the awful performances and swathes of empty seats that spoke the loudest.

So it was welcome news that agreement on his departure was reached before the end of the season so that everyone has a chance to say “merci” to Wenger on Sunday.

And it will be a heartfelt tribute. Twenty two years at one club, at the highest level of football, is unprecedented nowadays. His tenure lasted so long because for many years Wenger was at the top of the managerial game. In terms of scouting, coaching, nutrition and psychology he transformed English football. He built up such a persona in the early era that in the end it allowed him to stay on for far too long when time caught up with him.

Every Arsenal fan who was lucky enough to see the League title and Cup-winning teams he put together from his joining the club to 2005 will forever remember some of the best football ever played by any Arsenal teams, capped with going a season unbeaten, truly the ‘Invincibles’. But it has also been a slow and steady decline culminating in his final two season’s finishing fifth and likely sixth.

In Pictures | Arsene Wenger's 22 years at Arsenal

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It is going to be very strange getting used to seeing a new face on the manager’s bench. But also a breath of fresh air. A different approach to tactics, a different voice to explaining decisions and a different philosophy to how Arsenal should play will be welcome to fans who were increasingly weary.

While they are big shoes to fill the tail-off in recent years makes it a manageable task. Qualifying for the Champions League will represent progress and is achievable with the resources Arsenal have.

But we must recognise that a new manager is likely to need time to establish themselves. They will be working with an unbalanced squad and limited resources. All exacerbated by a second year of not playing in the Champions League. This will make it harder to attract the very top manager and players needed and reduces the resources available to strengthen the team which are much needed given the already bloated wage bill the club carries. Future success is likely to be built around shrewd signings, defensive coaching being re-established and the installing of a team ethic. Most importantly a new mental approach.

So while Sunday is about saying goodbye it is more important to be ready for the future. Arsenal need to be more focused on finding their next manager. A new appointment needs making within a fortnight so all the work that needs doing to rebuild the squad can be expedited.

Most pressing are decisions to be taken around the future of Hector Bellerin, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere and a host of other fringe players.

Football is a game that is always about tomorrow. So while Wenger will be missed, Arsenal and the fans will move ahead just fine. The King is dead. Long live the King. Time to get back to being Arsenal, not Arsene FC.

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