Arsenal fans were thinking that they would be seeing their cherished football team under the management of Arsène Wenger until the end of the 2018-19 season. So when the legendary French boss announced late last season that the 2017-18 season would be his last, most fans were shocked and taken off-guard. However, the overall feeling was one of optimism with the emphasis for most on giving the long-serving boss a proper send-off.
Arsène Wenger had signed a new two-year deal at the end of the 2016-17 campaign and was due to preside over the club he ended up managing for 22 years, for what would have been 23 years had he actually finished his contract.
At the top of Wenger’s achievements, other than his impressive winning percentage of over 57% in North London, were the stunning 3 Premier League titles he delivered, the 7 FA Cups he won, as well as the 7 Community Shields. The 68-year-old will likely put his inability to win a European competition at Arsenal as one of his greatest disappointments, especially after guiding them to 19 successive appearances in the Champions League.
Wenger did get the team to the 2006 final where they played Barcelona for the right to be Champions of Europe. Yet, despite taking the lead from a Sol Campbell header after goalkeeper Jens Lehmann had been sent-off early reducing the Gunners to ten men for the bulk of the final, Wenger and his players ended up losing 2-1 overall.
You can watch the progress of the club this season and bet on the success of the team as Unai Emery continues his tenure as Gunners Boss. However, one thing that you perhaps shouldn’t expect is Arsenal ever repeating their invincible season from the 2003/04 campaign under old boss Wenger, which was surely his greatest achievement. In the 2003/04 season, Wenger led the team to the Premier League title as his players won 26 matches, while drawing 12 matches of their 38 top flight games and not returning a single loss – an accomplishment which is something to genuinely behold.
As we now know the formers Gunners boss decided to step down a season early as the difficulties at the club and the lack of achievements on the field in recent seasons, particularly the inability to advance in the Champions League or even qualify for Europe’s premier football competition, was hurting the view Gooners were taking of Wenger.
After Wenger signed off in May of this year with a 6th place finish, 12 points out of the top 4 and no trophies, the Arsenal brain trust moved quickly to secure former Sevilla and PSG manager, Spaniard Unai Emery. Despite losing his first two games in charge to rivals Manchester City and Chelsea, the new Arsenal boss has shaped the team into an attacking-focused squad, which seems to be meeting with the approval of most Gooners as they continue on their 9-game winning streak including 6 Premier League victories.
Securing Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to appear in the same starting eleven and score goals has been one of the major accomplishments of Emery, as well as his astute moves in the transfer market which have seen the likes of Lucas Torreira, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Bernd Leno, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Mattéo Guendouzi join the club with great success.
Arsenal have endured a pretty hectic season off the field with owner Stan Kroenke making an offer to buy the whole of the club back in early August which ruffled a few feathers as the American owner looks to simplify the operations of the club and consolidate his control in North London in a deal which values Arsenal at £1.8 billion. With the Kroenke offer barely reported it was only a month or so before it was announced that Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis agreed to leave the club to take over the same role at AC Milan with Arsenal’s chief commercial officer Vinai Venkatesham due to assume the managing director position when the outgoing Gazidis finally leaves for Italy at the end of the month.
With things seeming relatively settled in North London, news broke last week that old boss Wenger is ready to return to the touchline of a team with numerous offers from around the world under consideration. Whether Arsène Wenger decides to take over the reins of an international team, or returns to manage a team in Japan where he managed Grampus 8 previously remains to be seen. However, the old Arsenal boss seems to be relaxed and ready for a new challenge after taking some time off to recharge his batteries.
Hopefully 2018-19 can bring silverware for both Wenger and Arsenal, only this time it will not be together.