Being the son of an Arsenal fan I have always heard rants about Arsene Wenger, be it praise or disapproval. Recently, however, it has just been the latter.
You could argue that Wenger must stay, because of all he has done for Arsenal and the huge change he has made at the club. However recently what changes has he made? Selling your best players and spending virtually none of the money is not what a title challenging side should be doing.
You could also argue that he has changed the youth system at the club and give it 3 or 4 years and Arsenal will be atop the league with an average age of 13. How often though have you heard that with Arsenal? For years and years I have heard that amazing players will come through and dominate the team but since then Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are the only key players to emerge from the youth setup.
You could argue that he has changed the image of Arsenal into a side that plays beautiful passing football. In fact you would be right, but at the end of the day it does not win matches. Barcelona do play a similar system and they are the best team on the planet but the reason it works so incredibly well is because players like Lionel Messi and David Villa will finish the majority of chances they are given. While an in form Van Persie can be prolific an injured one leaves the squad short in depth. Thankfully Nicklas Bendtner won’t be their main striker in this situation but Gervinho is yet to impress.
Now there are some things you can’t argue about. Replacing Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri with Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta is something that should not be happening at a side trying to achieve. Both are great players but they are far from the world class duo Arsenal previously had. With Samir Nasri joining Manchester City, Arsenal are making the opposition stronger. The opposition that will surely for the second year make the champions league. If Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool also continue their early form then Arsenal will have to settle for Europa League. For a (supposedly) big club this would be tragic and severely affect their chances of attracting big name players.
In my eyes Arsene Wenger should go yes, but he might yet be saved. As a manager he needs to work with what he has got and unlock the serious potential of underachievers. Theo Walcott step up and save your manager.
Nathan Price
Twitter: @Nathando9