Now that Arsenal have successfully seen off Bayern Munich in a Champions League group-stage fixture that very few gave them much of a hope of winning, question marks surrounding Arsene Wenger and his often pressurised role at the Emirates have seemingly been put on hold for now.
The Gunners weren’t exactly convincing last time out against the Bundesliga giants – but when any side triumph over one of the best teams in world football by two goals to nil – it remains difficult to point any meaningful accusations towards Wenger’s starting XI and the manner in which they played on the night.
However, even though Arsenal look well placed near the top of the Premier League table at the minute, the club’s long-standing French boss simply won’t last forever in the Emirates dug-out. The 65-year-old tactician ultimately doesn’t represent the same world class manager he did once upon a time in North London, no matter how stubbornly opposed to such a notion many Arsenal supporters often prove to be.
The concept of there no longer being any other options to choose from on the European managerial circuit has become a worn-out excuse in the modern era – as Liverpool have recently proved by replacing the ill-fated Brendan Rodgers with the vastly more exciting option in Jurgen Klopp.
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So then, with the former Borussia Dortmund favourite eventually making his way to the English top-flight this season, have the Gunners actually missed a trick in failing to land the enigmatic German before their Premier League rivals?
Let’s face it, prior to his side’s recent win over Bayern Munich, Arsene Wenger was a man clearly operating with a fair amount of doubt hanging over his head.
His team may well be swimming along domestically this term, but within the ever testing and threatening realm of Champions League football, the current Arsenal boss has seemingly portrayed a man somewhat at a loss of ideas.
Subsequently inexcusable losses to both Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos shone the French coach in a particularly damaging light, especially via his questionable match-day selections and odd desire to start David Ospina over Petr Cech. Make no mistake, the Gunners could well still be exiting the Champions League earlier than expected this term thanks to Wenger’s previous mishaps in the competition.
His side’s strange lack of activity over the course of the summer transfer window has also called into question Wenger’s modern day managerial quality, even if the Frenchman admittedly doesn’t reign supreme over the finances behind the scenes at the Emirates. As things nonetheless stand, his squad simply don’t possess enough strength in depth to stay consistently successful over the course of the season, despite the current Arsenal starting XI remaining relatively solid.
A manager of Jurgen Klopp’s ilk – someone who arrives in arguably more passionate and exciting form than the current Arsenal boss – would have therefore been ideal for the Gunners looking into the future. There simply aren’t many coaches like the captivating German tactician currently operating on the European scene at the moment. It is on the basis of such reasoning alone that Arsenal should have perhaps made a move for the newly installed Liverpool boss before the Reds had a chance to make their move.
Klopp would have brought with him a fresh set of ideas to the Emirates that have been desperately lacking in recent seasons. Although recent FA Cup triumphs over ‘giants’ Hull City and Aston Villa may appease some Gunners fans at this stage in their club’s history – Arsenal simply aren’t the undoubtedly successful side they once were. The team just doesn’t have enough world class quality amongst its ranks to justify the club’s supposedly world class status.
Jurgen Klopp could have easily given the Gunners a strong boost right before it was desperately needed, and maintained the fantastic legacy Arsene Wenger has developed at the club. Now though, Arsenal’s decision to stick with their long term manager has allowed Liverpool to swoop in and potentially even leap frog their Premier League rivals in the not too distant future.
In any case, however, most Arsenal fans likely couldn’t care less about the fate of Jurgen Klopp or how well Liverpool will do under his management. As the Emirates faithful certainly aren’t witnessing any form of crisis at their club these days, now would hardly seem like an ideal time to start calling for change.
We will therefore simply have to wait and see how such a decision will affect the Gunners throughout the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign…
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