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So it has been announced. Arsene Wenger will step down from the job that he literally gave everything to. More and more fans were turning against him and each empty seat around the Emirates- which is the biggest trophy for Wenger- must feel like a new knife cut to him.
But no matter how bad Arsenal may have been playing for the past couple of seasons, it is still going to be a monumental task to replace the man who has made Arsenal, as we know it. The possession-based attacking football was prevalent in north London long before the meteoric rise of a certain Catalan manager in Spain.
The first part of Arsene's Arsenal career was illuminated with numerous accolades, with him being the only manager standing up to the great Sir Alex Ferguson. For almost 9 years, the two legends of the game were involved in giant clashes and title races.
In the second part of his career at Arsenal, Wenger still did a commendable job of keeping Arsenal in the title races, and always finishing in the top 4, with all the financial constraints owing to the move to the Emirates stadium. He stood up to the oil money of Chelsea and Manchester City.
But it is the third part of his 22-year reign that is the biggest threat to his legacy. After 2012, Wenger, it seems refused to move forward even after the loan was completely paid off. He became obsessed with trying to win the title in his own way and that in turn has led him and the club to where we are today.
This season, even the most ardent supporters of Wenger, in the stands and the boardroom had been asking for a change. And now it is confirmed. So let's see which manager is the most well equipped to handle the change in the red half of North London.
#5 Carlo Ancelotti
Ancelotti has proved to be a serial winner during his career.
PROS:
Along with Guardiola and Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti is arguably the most successful manager of this generation. How many managers can boast of winning trophies in Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany? Ancelotti is one of the few personalities in football who has achieved tremendous success both as a player and a manager.
As the manager of the great Milan team of the mid-noughties, he played in 3 champions league finals, winning two of them and losing one, only to the heroics of Liverpool in Istanbul. League titles at Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich followed with the La Decima at Real Madrid being the cherry on the top.
Carlo Ancelotti has managed European powerhouses throughout his career across the continent and has been successful everywhere. He has even expressed his wish to manage in the Premier League again and is currently residing in London.
At this point in time, he seems to be the most obvious choice for becoming Wenger's successor. His style of play has always been attractive and attacking which will bode well with Arsenal players and fans alike. A proven track record in Champions League and experience in winning English title make him the perfect signing too.
CONS:
Looking at where Arsenal are now, Ancelotti might not be the right man to take the club out of this mess. The reason being that he has always led teams that were well balanced and filled with superstars. Be it Milan, Chelsea or Real Madrid, he had living legends of the game on the pitch. At Arsenal, there is arguably only one world class player in an otherwise above average team.
The question is whether or not Ancelotti has what it takes to resurrect Arsenal. Believe it or not, you need to have a little of Sam Allardyce in yourself if you need to rebuild a team(only little). That may be a big obstacle in making a decision in favour of the Italian.
#4 Joachim Löw
PROS:
2008 Euro finalist, 2010 World Cup Semi-Finalist, 2012 Euro Semi-Finalist, 2014 World Cup Winner, 2016 Euro Semi-Finalist, 2017 Confederations Cup Winner. Germany achieved all of this under only one man- Joachim Löw. He could have had conquered even more, but the might of the Spanish Empire stood in his way from 2008-12.
When the legendary Italian team of 2006 knocked the hosting Germans out of the tournament, the silence inside the Westfalonstadion was deafening. 2 goals at the end of extra time had shattered the entire nation.
Jurgen Klinsmann left and his assistant Low was appointed as the head coach and from then on, till this day, Germany is continuously regarded as one of the top 3 teams in the world. That, in itself, is a measure of what Low has achieved.
Of course, he was helped by the complete revolution of the German youth football setup after the Euro 2000 debacle. But still, he reached, at least, till the semifinals for 5 consecutive tournaments. He went from strength to strength getting knocked out twice by the all-conquering Spanish team and once by Italy.
He kept on learning and evolving along with his team and all their efforts culminated on that fateful night in Rio as they became the World Champions after 24 years. But something was different this time.
The World Cup winning German teams of before were famous for grinding out results, but not Low's team. They were ruthless in attack (they practically demolished Brazil) and solid in defence.
Arsenal is in need of a similar kind of resurgence that Klinsmann and Low achieved with Germany. And after so many years of managing the national team, Low may be enticed to manage a big club like Arsenal, to test his skills and to grow as a manager.
CONS:
There is one major problem in appointing Low as Arsenal manager. He has literally achieved nothing at club football level. Stints at small German and Austrian clubs have not shown if he has really what it takes to take over a big club in crisis.
We have already seen one such experiment fail miserably in Manchester, where Moyes was given a job he was not ready for even after successfully managing a club in the same league for 10 years. So how can one believe that Low will be able to take Arsenal out of the mess they are in.
#3 Diego Simeone
PROS:
La Cholo, as he is popularly known, Diego Simeone is probably the most sought-after manager currently in club football.The enigmatic Argentinian who did not fear to dream and broke the Madrid-Barca duopoly in La Liga.
The man who reached two Champions League finals in three years, only to be denied by a majestic header in one and a penalty miss in other. He also has a Europa League and a Copa del Rey to show for his time at Athletico. He has won all of this on a shoestring budget.
A former player for Athletico during their last title triumph in 1996, he came back to the club and made Athletico a force to be reckoned with, even after losing his best strikers to European giants at regular intervals
Hard working and tenacious during his playing days, he has brought those qualities into his management style and imbibed them into his team. The basis for Diego's success comes from his solid defensive unit. It was this foundation that worked in their favour as they beat Barcelona and Real, to the La Liga title, who were brimming with attacking talents.
Such a manager who gives defence more importance can do Arsenal some good. It should not be forgotten that when Wenger arrived on the English shores, he inherited the virtuoso defence of George Graham which played a huge role in his first two title-winning campaigns
Another positive for hiring Simeone could be the way he has always replaced the string of talents that have left the club and made new superstars, something Wenger used to be famous for. Sergio Aguero, Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa, De Gea and Courtois were all successfully replaced without much fuss.
CONS:
The defensive approach that has brought Simeone so much success at Athletico may become somewhat of a problem at the Emirates. Wenger has spoiled the gunner fans with some scintillating football over the years, and even the players are of the same mould.
So suddenly changing the dynamics of their game would be very difficult for them. For all the "treble" Mourinho has won at United, the fans are not happy with the dull brand of football at Old Trafford and most of the attacking players are suffering.
#2 Massimiliano Allegri
PROS:
The current manager of the Italian champions, Allegri, is on the wish list of a number of clubs around Europe. He is the 4 times winner of Serie A and has three consecutive doubles along with two Champions League finals to his name.
Leading two rival clubs in Italy, Allegri has achieved success with both AC Milan and now Juventus. In his first full season at Milan, he led them to their first championship since 2004. However, after some disagreements with the board, he left them midseason in 2014.
He arrived at Juventus amid protests from the Bianconeri fans who were furious at the signing of a former rival manager. But the way Allegri has won the fans over, delivering title after title, left no doubt in fans' mind that the Juventus board had made the right decision. He is particularly praised for his tactical intelligence and versatility.
He not only built effectively on Conte's tactics but improvised for the Champions League clashes with European giants and took Juventus to two finals in three years, an area where Conte was definitely missing a beat. On road to those finals, he defeated Barcelona and Real Madrid in different seasons but lost to the other one in the finals.
Allegri focuses more on short passes and building a move from the back, a characteristic that would bode well with Arsenal players, fans and board. His tactical flexibility in changing the formation from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2, when the situation demands, sometimes even in the middle of the match is praiseworthy.
It is exactly opposite to Arsene Wenger's stubbornness of always attacking, even in the final minutes of the game when they may be leading by a 1 or 2 goal margin. Allegri's teams are well balanced, with equal importance given to defence and attack, which became apparent in the 2017 Champions League campaign when they conceded only 2 goals en route to the final even after facing attacking teams like Monaco and Barcelona.
CONS:
Even after all his successes at Milan and Juventus, the way in which he left Milan is always held over Allegri's head. Milan were languishing in 11th position when he was sacked. A lot of it is often credited to a host of important players getting retired and being sold, but if a manager is auditioning for a job at Arsenal, he should have a contingency plan for big players leaving.
Also, Allegri has never played or managed outside Italy so he is completely inexperienced in that department. Although the last two Premier League winners were Italian, it still seems to be a big risk.
#1 Thomas Tuchel
PROS:
Thomas Tuchel is said to be one of the front-runners to take over the reins from Wenger next season. Before Dortmund, he took charge of the newly promoted Mainz side, with very limited funds. He built a side that played fluid attacking football and finished at a respectable 9th position in the Bundesliga.
In his second season, he took Mainz to even greater heights as the club finished 5th and qualified for Europe. But after that, things went south as Tuchel was not able to juggle the demands of domestic and European matches with the limited budget he had. After another 7th place finish, he left Mainz, as he was given insufficient funds for the transfer window.
At Dortmund, after the disastrous campaign of Klopp's last season, Tuchel was handed the reins. With a mightier financial prowess of Dortmund as compared to Mainz, he delivered two back to back 2nd position with a DFB Pokal in his last season.
In both these clubs, Tuchel was credited for giving younger talents a chance in his teams, a quality that is seen a lot at the Emirates.
CONS:
According to the media reports, PSG is also looking to sign him, which is odd as he has achieved virtually nothing so far in his career to be considered for posts like PSG and Arsenal. How is giving him the managerial seat at Emirates any different from giving it to Eddie Howe?
Both play an attractive brand of football but they have a lot to learn before taking over such big clubs. Arsenal should not repeat a "United". Sir Alex left a team which had just been crowned champions and still, Moyes struggled and now even Mourinho is not able to take them to those heights. Arsenal are already a team a struggling team to appointing someone as inexperienced as Tuchel does not seem to be the right idea.
