The pressure is building on Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after a terrible week in which he lost at home to Watford and then away at Chelsea. But as the calls grow for him to be sacked, I thought I would ask the question, should he stay or should he go?
Why he should stay
As the Premier League's longest serving manager, there are numerous reasons why Wenger should stay in charge.
Despite rumblings in the stands, the players not only support him but really like him as a manager. This has been illustrated most significantly by the fact that Arsenal player Mesut Ozil has revealed that he will only sign a new contract if Wenger does. As reported in The Sun newspaper, Ozil stated that "I want to be clear what the manager will be doing in the future". Even former players still respect him. Ex-Arsenal striker Ian Wright that the fans need to "respect and trust Wenger's plan". Another reason to keep him is that he develops talent like no other. He famously stated, as reported on the BBC, that "we do not buy superstars, we make them".
Furthermore, another reason to keep Wenger is his record of finishing in the top four every year since he took over in 1996 as stated in the Independent newspaper. Although that may not sound much, but the fact that Arsenal have had considerably less money than their rivals since the move to The Emirates stadium shows just how well Wenger has done.
The reasons to leave
But now the second part, here are the reasons as to why Wenger should go. To put it simply, always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Arsenal have not won the Premier League for almost thirteen years and that is simply not good enough. It is also the case that at a certain time of the year they always stumble and leave themselves too much to do.
The fans are unhappy because there has been no real progression. Furthermore, back in 2014 Jose Mourinho described Arsene Wenger as a "specialist in failure" as reported on the BBC website. One of the many comments made against Wenger is that he simply has not bought right in the past ten years; one problem being that the team lacks leadership. This was echoed by former defender Sol Campbell, who stated that there are not enough characters in the team; the players who "will say something on the pitch" if "things are not going right". Campbell sighted players such as Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp, who would all "chip in" if needed.
Overall thoughts
It is clear that there is stagnation as Arsenal.
It is true that it is not good enough for a club of that stature to go thirteen years without winning the league. But faced with what Arsene Wenger has had to deal with over the year's shows that he has done a sterling job. But the fans are not happy, and once you lose the ones who pay to watch you play, the job becomes a lot harder. Maybe a change will do the club good and breathe new life in to the players. It has been two decades let us not forget.