Ivan Gazidis Discusses Arsene Wenger's Arsenal Exit, Transfer Policy and More

Arsenal supremo Ivan Gazidis has spoken of the mammoth task that the football club has in replacing Arsene Wenger one day, calling the coach a managerial "giant."

Sky Sports reported on the Gunners chief executive's comments to the club's official website, with Gazidis stating that replacing Wenger will be the Arsenal's "biggest challenge."

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So much of the attention on a football club is around an individual and that’s very understandable at Arsenal because we have a giant who’s managing us. Arsene has been a fantastic driver and has put the club in a great, great position.

The biggest challenge we’re going to face as a club is that, when the transition from Arsene to the next manager of our football club happens – and I don’t know what that’s going to be – that we come through that strongly.

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Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Wenger has just celebrated 18 years in north London and last season broke the Gunners' trophy duck by winning the FA Cup. 

Many had called Wenger's tenure into question before this with criticism of his lack of recent success. As a result, Wenger's original transfer policy was called into doubt as he struggled to replace the former legends of his past teams.

But 2013 saw the record signing of Mesut Ozil and a change in focus with player recruitment. 

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Gazidis also commented on this facet and how the club will support Wenger in his ideology:

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We want this football club to be at the top of the world’s game. If the manager believes in someone like Mesut Ozil, he can buy him. It’s the same with Alexis Sanchez.

Underneath that tip of the iceberg, those star signings that we talk a lot about, there’s an awful lot else going on. Our youth development, for example, is going to be the foundation of this football club going forward.

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Sang Tan/Associated Press

Gazidis also said he feels the Gunners are not yet at the highest level of world football and are behind a select number of teams, per Sky Sports:

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Where we are currently is off the shoulder of the world’s top teams. I don’t think we’re at that level yet, but that’s where we’re aiming to get to. We want Arsenal to be in that elite group of football clubs around the world.

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Huffington Post's Samuel Luckhurst somewhat agreed with this assessment from Gazidis, both praising Wenger and highlighting Arsenal's lack of credible success:

Wenger is famous for his belief in youth but the Gunners have not produced a plethora of talent from their development ranks recently.

Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere have both worked their way through the system at the Emirates but other young additions have been purchased from outside of the club, such as Aaron Ramsey and Calum Chambers.

And despite the high profile additions of Ozil and Sanchez, the manager has failed to address the team's desperate need for a defensive midfielder, since the departure of Alex Song to Barcelona. 

Wenger now faces a spell without his marquee midfielder, with Ozil ruled out for up to three months with a knee injury, per Anthony Hay of the Mail Online.

It will be a testing period for the coach and could make-or-break his season.

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Ozil has been anything but a roaring success for the French manager and his absence might be a blessing in disguise. 

However, if his other midfielders do not step up to the plate—and if Arsenal's lack of defensive know-how ends up stinging Wenger—it could be a case that the Gunners are out of the title picture by the time Ozil returns.

If this happens, Wenger's position will once again be called into question, and Gazidis could be searching for that elusive replacement earlier than expected. 

But with the additions of Sanchez and Danny Welbeck, Wenger has made Arsenal a more potent threat. Their seven Premier League games have seen them score 11 goals but also concede a worrying nine, per Squawka.com.

In the short term, this will be impossible for Wenger to fix, until he can bring in an experienced defender in January, or sees improved fitness from his centre-backs.

Wenger currently sits at the poker table with a strong hand and a large amount of chips—but his team are going to have to earn their luck in the coming months as he formulates a strategy to get the most from them.