Arsene Wenger: A specialist in the failure of adaptation

Over a decade ago, Arsene Wenger had a dream. It was to shift his team’s base from a slippery and sloppy Highbury to their new Emirates Stadium. The shift of stadiums was a statement of intent; something that showed that the club was on its way to establishing themselves as a powerhouse in European football.

However, Emirates came with its own set of complications as the club lacked the financial muscle to attract the best players to them after that. The new stadium had deprived Wenger of the money that was abundant among his direct rivals. Chelsea, Manchester United and even Manchester City were on the rise at that time and were making waves in the transfer market.

However, Wenger stuck to his policy of developing young players and built a side that was capable enough of competing and challenging for the title, if not winning it. Numerous players such as Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri amongst others were on the verge of taking the Premier League by storm. The abundance of talent in the Arsenal squad was envious at one point in time.

Under the old man’s tutelage, the players were ready to break their sweat and blood to ensure that the team played a style of football that the fans so loved watching. Even with the lack of silverware, the fans thoroughly supported the club. This was owing to the fact that the Gunners never let them down with their exciting football. The right way, as they like to call it. Only one person was responsible for it; good ol’ Arsene Wenger.

The Frenchman had always insisted on staying intact with his philosophies. His belief in playing attacking, free-flowing football had earned him loads of respect from masses at the Emirates.

The way in which Wenger trusted upon the young lads increased people’s hopes on the fact that the near future of the club would be prominent. However, as time passed, Wenger became reluctant and arrogant, to say the least.

It is a crime to not adapt to the changing world. Especially in a time when clubs sack managers faster than anytime else, the gaffers have to be on their toes all the time. Maybe the sheer amount of trust that the board and the fans placed on the Frenchman boosted his ego of following only his way of playing and managing football.

Sir Alex Ferguson is the prime example of the importance of adaptation in modern football. Fergie managed Manchester United for 26 long years and did not seem to be stopping even in his final season. Sir Alex always kept his faith on youth players and trusted them to come out good.

However, to ensure instant success, he never feared breaking the bank on some star players too. Though Ferguson’s teams were attack-driven, they always had a sturdy and strong defence to help them become rock solid at the back.

Xhaka and Elneny have endured a torrid season at Arsenal

Wenger’s big fault in recent years has been the poor identification of talent; something that he did extremely well in the yesteryears. The Frenchman has played the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mohammed Elneny as his holding midfielders and has regretted it numerous times in recent times.

Accordingly, his rigidity towards playing an attacking brand of football means that he has given a cold shoulder to the back end of the pitch completely. An aged Petr Cech awaits his 200th PL clean sheet. However, with Arsenal’s defence and deep midfield, it does not seem to be happening anytime soon.

Driven by an unparalleled support from fans and the board, Wenger carried Arsenal on his shoulders for a considerable period of time. In between though, it became apparent that he had taken the wrong advantage of fans’ support. The people were smart enough to realize that, better sooner than never.

Personally, even after not being an Arsenal fan, I feel disgruntled with the lack of audacity and passion in their team. This is because Arsene Wenger had scripted their beautiful story of becoming the best team in English football by going unbeaten for 49 straight matches.

The same Emirates that Wenger had built with immense hopes and aspirations is silent now. Wenger’s career at Arsenal is dying a slow death, but it needs to be over soon. Even if the good old man walks his way out soon, he won’t have anyone else to blame for the scenario and the circumstances surrounding his departure.