Is Arsene Wenger running out of time at Arsenal?

Arsene Wenger has been manager of Arsenal since 1996 and over the years he has won many trophies including the league three times and the FA cup four times. In guiding his team to these triumphs he has also won a lot of respect from fellow coaches, pundits and players alike with the way he has built his sides up and nurtured young talents.

Although Arsenal haven’t won a trophy in seven years Wenger has always been given the benefit of the doubt as fans accepted he was building a new generation Arsenal squad following the departures and retirements of key players such as Henry, Pires, Vieira, Gilberto Silba and Bergkamp.

Fans began to become frustrated when Wenger allowed their captain and most influential player Fabregas to leave for Barcelona in 2011, Fabregas wanted the move just as much as Barcelona wanted him though so fans stuck by Wenger.

However this year Wenger allowed the same thing to happen again letting their captain and talismanic striker Robin Van Persie to leave for premier league rivals Manchester United, this was the last straw and disillusioned fans started to turn against ‘Le Professeur.’

It’s obvious that Arsenal have become a selling club and they just can’t keep up financially with the likes of Chelsea, Man city and United, but surely that’s not Arsene’s fault? … No, but Arsene has never had the financial fire power but this is why he has had such an impressive managerial career. He has an innate ability to pick out rough gems and nurture them into world beaters in recent years though he seems to have lost that magic touch.

Arsenal’s recipe for success has always been integrating young talents into teams with experience and leaders at its core. This has always been key as the experienced players helped the youngsters grow into their potential, this team Wenger currently has at his disposal though doesn’t really have a Vieria, a Fabregas, an Henry or a Van Persie, a talisman for the youngsters to learn from and this may be the reason for some poor performances this year.  

They lie tenth in the premiership with only five wins from fifteen games. Although they have qualified for the Champion’s League knock-out rounds confidence is low at the club following disappointing losses to Swansea and Olympiakos, Wenger needs to find something in his team and inspire them to turn this season around.

Life has become tough in London for the Frenchman and if he can’t get his side back on track it may be the end of Arsenal’s longest serving and most successful manager as fans become increasingly more frustrated with his tactics and team selections.