Arsene who is fondly called "Le Professeur" a nickname which is used to reflect his studious demeanour, Wenger's approach to the game emphasises an attacking mentality.
Arsenal Under the regin of Wenger won its last major trophy in 2005 when they defeated United in the FA Cup penalty shoot out and since then have not smelt any other trophy.
In 1996, Wenger was named manager of Arsenal and two years later, in 1998, became the first manager born outside Britain to win the league and FA Cup double. He led the club to appearances in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final and 2001 FA Cup Final, before replicating the double achievement in 2002. Arsenal retained the FA Cup in 2003 and a year later regained the league, becoming the first club since Preston North End, 115 years previously, to go through an entire league season undefeated.
The team later eclipsed Nottingham Forest's sequence of 42 league matches unbeaten and went seven more matches before defeat in October 2004. Arsenal made their first appearance in a Champions League final in 2006, having gone 10 consecutive games without conceding a goal. In 2012, the club qualified for a fifteenth successive season of Champions League football, after making their worst start to a season for 58 years. During his tenure, Arsenal moved to a new training centre and after 93 years at Highbury, in August 2006, relocated to the Emirates Stadium.
His Arsenal teams are often criticised for their indiscipline; his players received 80 red cards between September 1996 and October 2010, though the team has also won awards for sporting fair play. At Monaco, Wenger earned a reputation for spotting young talent and has retained a focus on developing a youth system, where his clubs develop young players instead of buying expensive, experienced ones. He has faced criticism for sticking closely to his principles, with some commentators questioning his ambition to win trophies.
Wenger has been described by BBC Sport as a coach who "has spent his career building teams that combine the accumulation of silverware with a desire to entertain and attack", and by the Daily Mail as "a purist, dedicated to individual and collective technical quality". The Times notes that since the 2003–04 season, Wenger's approach to the game has placed an emphasis on attack. His style of play has been contrasted with the pragmatic approach of his rivals, but he has assembled teams to produce disciplined performances, markedly the 2005 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. Although Wenger for a number of years employed a 4–4–2 formation, he used 4–5–1 for Champions League matches in the 2005–06 season, often with a lone striker and packed midfield for security. From the 2009–10 season, Wenger instituted a fluid 4–3–3 formation at Arsenal, which benefited midfielder Fàbregas.The team have been criticised by journalist Jeff Powell for lacking a "killer touch", footballer Michael Ballack for being one-dimensional and former manager David Pleat for "want[ing] to score a 'nice' goal" as opposed to shooting.
Since Wenger rarely gives interviews unrelated to football, little is known of his personal feelings. Living in Japan helped him control his emotions and define his behaviour whilst managing: "Everybody there is controlled. They laugh at you if you show emotion." His demeanour, once mild-mannered and reflective of his nickname "Le Professeur",has altered in recent seasons, with frequent touchline antics that have drawn comparison to Fawlty Towers character Basil Fawlty.
Psychometric tests are used by Wenger, once every two years, to examine whether a player is mentally right for his squad. He encourages sportsmen to solve their own problems; when asked by a player with the ball for guidance on what to do next, Wenger shouted at him "Decide for yourself! Why don't you think it out?"Several players have rejuvenated their careers, under his guidance. Henry, his former protégé at Monaco, was developed from a winger into a striker, subsequently becoming Arsenal's all-time top goalscorer. He stood by captain Tony Adams, who publicly admitted to alcoholism in 1996.D ennis Bergkamp, who became a peripheral player in his final years at Arsenal, praised Wenger for getting the best out of him.
Several English players have started their careers at Arsenal under Wenger, including Cole, David Bentley, Steve Sidwell, Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Upson, while young English talent such as Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere are still building careers at the club.
However, Wenger has often been criticised for fielding many foreign players. In a league match against Crystal Palace on 14 February 2005, Arsenal fielded a 16-man squad, that featured no British players for the first time in the club's history. This prompted PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor to express it would begin "a worrying pattern for English football". In March 2006, manager Alan Pardew commented that Arsenal's Champions League success was "not necessarily a triumph for British football". Wenger saw the issue of nationality as irrelevant and said, "When you represent a club, it's about values and qualities, not about passports".
Other pundits including Trevor Brooking, the director of football development at The Football Association, have defended Wenger. Brooking has stated that a lack of English players in "one of England's most successful clubs" was more of a reflection on England's limited talent pool rather than on Wenger, an opinion shared by youth team coach and ex-Liverpool player Craig Johnston.
At Arsenal, Wenger has enjoyed a great deal of support and backing from the club board of directors and the fans, who have demonstrated exceptional faith in the manager and his long-term vision.[187] His arrival at the club prompted a change in the style of football – once derided as "Boring, boring Arsenal", for a lack of creativity, Arsenal are considered the "great entertainers" of English football, with pundit Alan Hansen describing the 2004 team as "quite simply the most fluid, devastating team the British Isles has seen." Wenger himself reflected that his "greatest legacy" at Arsenal would be the attacking football played.[190] In spite of failing to win a trophy at the club since 2005, supporters regularly display banners affirming "Arsène knows" and "In Arsène we trust" during home matches.At the Arsenal valedictory campaign at Highbury throughout the 2005–06 season, supporters showed appreciation by holding a "Wenger Day" as one of various themed matchdays. It was held on his 56th birthday, on 22 October 2005, in a league match against Manchester City.
Dein described Wenger as the most important manager in the club's history: "Arsène's a miracle worker. He's revolutionised the club. He's turned players into world-class players. Since he has been here, we have seen football from another planet."Similar sentiments have been expressed by his fellow peers and former players, most notably from Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Patrick Vieira and Brian Clough, who described Wenger as a "top, top manager" after surpassing his Nottingham Forest side's record of 42 matches unbeaten. Former Watford manager Graham Taylor praised Wenger's contribution in English football: "It is that change of culture, the change of philosophy which I think was the most important ... I believe his biggest contribution to football is getting across the idea that players have to prepare right and look after themselves". American baseball general manager Billy Beane regards Wenger as an "idol" to him, lauding his transfer strategy.
Wenger was awarded France's highest decoration, the Légion d'Honneur, in 2002 and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2003, he along with fellow Frenchman Gérard Houllier were awarded honorary OBEs for their services to football. In recognition of a decade at Arsenal, Wenger became the second foreign manager, after Italian-born Dario Gradi, to be inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Furthermore, a commissioned bronze bust of Wenger, similar to the earlier version of Herbert Chapman was unveiled as a tribute to him by the board of directors of Arsenal, at the club's annual general meeting on 18 October 2007. Wenger had an asteroid, 33179 Arsènewenger, named after him by the astronomer Ian P. Griffin, who states Arsenal as his favourite football club.
In January 2011, it was announced that Wenger was voted 'World Coach of the Decade' by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics. The organization aggregated the results from each year of the decade, and Wenger had narrowly beaten Ferguson and Mourinho for the honour.
Despite all this internation awards and recognition, many Arsenal fans have accussed Wenger of running out of ideas, and has criticized his pattern of play, where players do not try to take shot from outside the 18yard box.
Another area were the fans seem to be very angry with him, is the way and manner he lets their big Gun out of the club, which many have question whether wenger is in Arsenal to make money for the board or if he is actually competing for trophies like rivals Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City just to mention a few.
The sound of "Boos" have become a frequent thing at the Emirate, whether at half time or at the sound of the final whistle.
This friend of mine who's facebook status contributed to this write up, could not but express his feeling after watching Christian Michu gun down the Gunners who were suppose to Gun him and his team mates down at the Emirate.
Many Arsenal fans world wide are beginning to question the board on what direction the club is actually heading today.
Before the game today home supporters took part in a march to take issue with the recent running of the club.
And with comment such as that of my Friend's facebook status, am beginning to imagine that a march for the removal of Arsene Wenger is somewhere around the corner as Arsenal lie 10th in the premier league table after 15matches.
No comments:
Post a Comment