Arsene Wenger is one of the only managers who might not have delved into the vast experience of his ex-players, and finally one of them has come out speaking against the policy. Arsene Wenger has been Arsenal for almost twenty-one years and has built what can easily be called a dynasty.
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Arsene Wenger has been lucky to have managed the calibre of players like Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Tony Adams and Mikel Arteta. But, all of these players, who hold a management role in other clubs now, haven't really started their management career at Arsenal. (apart from Henry).
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Midfield dynamo Emmanuel Petit recently criticised this Arsene Wenger policy while talking to French media house SFR. He said, "Why didn't Arsene open the door to Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira or Tony Adams".
"Arsene couldn't imagine that anyone would criticise him openly on television, never mind a former Arsenal player", he added.
"It is good to build statues to commemorate history but at some point, you have to open the doors to help them. When I see Dennis Bergkamp on Ajax's bench, it doesn't bother me, but I remember Dennis has a son in Arsenal's academy."
"I was with Patrick two days before he went to the USA. There was an event organised by Manchester City in January, and I was one of four players invited by Patrick.
"I spoke with Patrick for two hours and I can say - and maybe he will not be happy that I am saying this in public - he is really disgusted by Arsenal & Arsene's attitude."
Which leads to a very intriguing case study on Arsene Wenger's strategy at Arsenal. Apart from Freddie Ljungberg and Steve Bould, there are hardly any ex-Arsenal players involved in the Arsenal set-up. Comparing it to Manchester United, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have been given chances to polish their skill for their club.
It will be interesting to see Arsene's response when he inevitably gets asked about the quotes at a Press Conference.
