Arsene Wenger’s replacement at Arsenal needs to bring in more leaders to play alongside Mesut Ozil
Gunners are stacked with talented footballers, but they need more steel — and an experienced manager to oversee them
WHEN Arsene Wenger breezed into Arsenal 22 years ago, he inherited the indomitable spirit of George Graham’s classic defence and the world-class quality of Dennis Bergkamp.
As he takes leave of the Emirates, after his final home match against Burnley, the Frenchman will leave no such legacy for the next man.
Instead he will bequeath Arsenal’s poorest squad in generations — a group not even willing or able to lift their game after the announcement of Wenger’s exit, despite their manager’s extreme levels of loyalty.
Thursday’s Europa League defeat by Atletico Madrid means the leaving do will be a hollow affair.
Arsenal will not play Champions League football again next term and are currently left to fight Sean Dyche’s Burnley side for sixth place.
Martin Keown, a member of that classic back-line, struck a nerve with Gunners fans after his savage attack on the attitude of Mesut Ozil in Spain.
The German divides opinions like few players in the Premier League.
For every righteous rant from Keown, you will find a stats man telling you he should win the Ballon d’Or. The truth lies somewhere in between.
'CROCODILE TEARS' Arsenal legend Martin Keown hits out at Mesut Ozil for ‘crocodile tears’ after 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in Europa League semi-final
Ozil is never going to be a scruff-of-the-neck character but slot him into a good team and he is one of the most creative players on the planet.
You could often sense that by the way he and Alexis Sanchez seemed to be playing a different game to their Arsenal team-mates.
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While Sanchez departed, there were a lack of top-end buyers willing to match Ozil’s £350,000-a-week wage offer and he signed a new Arsenal deal until 2021.
This means the World Cup-winner will be the most valuable member of a squad which is not fit for purpose and lacks steel in every department.
Yet we are told that instead of employing an experienced world-class manager able to get inside Ozil’s head, Arsenal intend to bring in an inexperienced boss on the cheap.
This approach, allied with a modest transfer budget, suggests the Gunners’ transformation from the Wenger years could be even more painful than Manchester United’s fall from grace.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are class acts yet to find their feet after January moves.
But, like Ozil, they will only thrive if they are allied with team-mates of superior character to this motley bunch.
Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi, Alex Lacazette, Danny Welbeck, Alex Iwobi and David Ospina are not good enough, while Nacho Monreal has regressed defensively.
Arsenal do not believe their most spirited player, Jack Wilshere, has a strong enough body to be their team’s centre-piece and so have offered him reduced terms, effectively suggesting he leaves on a free this summer.
Aaron Ramsey could be a gem with the right coaching. With a year left on his contract, expect the Welshman to be sold and reinvent himself elsewhere.
If this summer’s net spend really is going to be as low as the £50million reported, then Hector Bellerin may have to be sold to raise funds.
So the worst thing Arsenal’s hierarchy could imagine is that their team are incapable of slipping any lower.
If a man with no managerial experience really is to be handed Wenger’s train-set, then sixth or seventh may soon start looking like des-res positions in the Premier League table.
Arsenal’s hierarchy have dug themselves a deep hole — and don’t seem willing to put their spades down yet.