Brendan Rodgers vs. Arsene Wenger: Who Will Leave Their Post First?

When Arsenal traveled to Anfield to play Liverpool last season, the Gunners were league leaders and the Reds were mounting a title chase that so nearly saw Steven Gerrard hoist the Premier League trophy.

This time, Arsenal were in seventh and Liverpool in 11th, with all hope of winning the league entirely gone. Both are at risk of drowning in the ocean of mediocrity that lies between the top four and the relegation zone, doomed to a top-half finish and nothing more.

Interestingly, both clubs have similar flaws, and they were clearly on display when they played each other to a 2-2 draw on Sunday. They both conceded a goal from set pieces and left themselves open at the back for the other goal.

Liverpool controlled the ball for the vast majority of the match, but it took them almost an entire half to open the scoring. And they conceded from a free-kick just a minute later, as Mathieu Debuchy somehow outmuscled Martin Skrtel in the air to nod in the equalizer.

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That will sound familiar to Arsenal fans, who are more than used to conceding from set plays and coughing up leads after dominating play.

But, all too predictably, the Gunners allowed equilibrium to be restored in stoppage time, when Skrtel sprinted forward, absolutely unmarked, through the penalty box and rose to smash home the goal that snatched Liverpool a point.

It is, quite frankly, not surprising that the 6'6" Per Mertesacker ducked when Skrtel was racing at him and the ball. Arsenal are mentally weak, especially against top-caliber opponents, and there was no more fitting way for them to concede the equalizer.

As always, much of the blame gets laid at the feet of the managers.

Arsenal, under Arsene Wenger, have a long history of collapsing. But this is just Brendan Rodgers' third season with Liverpool, and he has achieved more varied results.

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Rodgers' first season with the Reds was the 2012-13 campaign, in which he guided a horribly wayward Liverpool to a modest seventh-place finish. The Kop always expects much more, but the team seemed to be playing better than they had under Kenny Dalglish.

Then Luis Suarez hit a vein of form so rich that he virtually carried Liverpool to the brink of the title last season. But Rodgers deserved a good deal of credit for guiding the team there; he successfully converted Gerrard to a deep-lying midfielder and orchestrated the purchase of Daniel Sturridge, who became almost as important as his strike partner.

Sturridge has been injured for virtually the entire season, which has significantly held Liverpool back. He would not have been able to help the club shore up its defense, of course, but Rodgers cannot be blamed for the absence of one of his best players.

Liverpool find themselves in the position Arsenal were in for several years (and arguably are in now): They have a leaky defense that will not seem to get better and is costing them loads of points.

Suarez and Sturridge masked that flaw last season, but Rodgers can no longer hide behind them. It's up to him to figure out what the problem is and solve it through tactical innovation.

He is now feeling the heat enough to hold very terse press conferences at which he minimizes the amount of syllables he uses to get out a thought. Reporters asked him whether he would persist with Brad Jones in goal over Simon Mignolet. His answer? "There's no change."

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Arsene Wenger has obviously been in Rodgers' position many times before, though he has always had the unique advantage of total job security.

While Liverpool have risen and fallen during Rodgers' time at the helm, Arsenal have been frustratingly consistent. The Gunners have finished third or fourth in every season since 2004-05, taking up the final Champions League spot for the last two years running.

The same problems keep cropping up, and Wenger seems like a broken record after all these years. Arsenal continue to play with the infamous "handbrake" on far too often and seem utterly unable to get past the big teams.

That has been one of the Gunners' biggest issues for years, and yet there does not seem to have been any progress. 

Wenger used to be endlessly pilloried for spending laughably little money in the transfer market. Now he spends big, splashing the cash for Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in consecutive summers. But he inexplicably fails to reinforce the positions in which Arsenal are most bereft of quality, such as defensive midfielder and center back.

Whereas Rodgers does not deserve full blame for Liverpool's defensive woes this season, Wenger cannot escape the burden of Arsenal's defensive record. Who in their right mind would go into a season with only two fit center backs?

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Wenger was actually quite close to leaving at the end of last season, or so popular opinion goes. His contract was up, and it was quite easy to see him leaving if his team could not finally break their trophy duck against Hull City.

But Arsenal thrillingly came from behind and hoisted their first trophy in nine years, and Wenger signed a new three-year deal.

Wenger famously honors his contracts, and the Arsenal board seems to love him. He performs the role of a sporting director and a manager and is a known quantity. You want Champions League revenue? Le Professeur is your man.

Rodgers got a new four-year contract at the end of last season, keeping him at Liverpool until 2018. Will he be patrolling some other touchline before Wenger rides into the sunset?

We can safely assume that the latter will manage until the end of his contract. Wenger will be 67 when his current deal expires; it's difficult to imagine him deciding to bear the immense stress of the job past that age.

The answer really depends on how long it takes Rodgers to turn things around. Regardless of how Liverpool do this season, he will have at least one more season to right the ship.

But four seasons is quite a long time, as evidenced by the paucity of long-term managers in the Premier League. Alan Pardew is in his fifth season with Newcastle United, and he is the second-longest-serving manager in the Premier League.

Liverpool have some young talent that will come into its prime during the next few years, but the club is approaching a time of transition. Gerrard will soon fade, the striking situation other than Sturridge is unclear and the defense needs to be rebuilt.

So Wenger will probably outlast yet another rival, but it is not at all obvious that he will.

Follow @charliemelman