Bleacher Report - Arsene Wenger

Arsenal Transfer Tracker: Week of June 17 News and Rumours

Charlie Melman — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:07:11 -0400

Arsenal's season has only just ended, so you know what that means: Transfer season is upon us once again!

Yes, with no actual football to occupy ourselves with over the long summer, we must desperately speculate about any potential arrivals and departures at the Emirates Stadium.

Perhaps there might actually be a summer of big spending in the cards for Arsenal? The club is flush with money from new sponsorship deals, and chief executive Ivan Gazidis has reiterated the organization's desire to challenge for the title again.

Throughout the week, I'll be keeping this slideshow updated with the latest Arsenal transfer stories, complete with some holistic analysis. Make sure to check back regularly.

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Imagining Arsenal Life After Arsene Wenger

James McNicholas — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:00:03 -0400

It is difficult for Arsenal supporters to imagine their club without Arsene Wenger. There is now an entire generation of fans who have no memory of a time before Arsene's Arsenal.

However, the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson is a stark reminder that all good things come to an end. Perhaps Arsene Wenger and Arsenal's inevitable separation is not too far away.

Wenger's longevity and consistency warrant worldwide admiration, yet there are those among the Arsenal fans who feel he may have served his purpose. Arsenal have not won a major trophy for eight years, and there is a growing fear that a new man is required to break the losing habit.

Wenger's contract expires in the summer of 2014, and although the Daily Mail report that Ivan Gazidis has suggested the club will try to retain him there are lingering rumours—such as this story from The Telegraph—about Wenger hopping over the channel to take charge of PSG.

Should he do so, Arsenal would suddenly face their most radical overhaul in almost two decades.

The first task facing the Arsenal board would be to identify a replacement. Sir Alex Ferguson himself named David Moyes as his preferred successor, and perhaps Wenger would be afforded the same luxury.

It's possible that Wenger would nominate Remi Garde. Utility player Garde was one of two signings Wenger instructed Arsenal to make prior to his arrival as manager in 1996. Garde was unveiled at Highbury on the same day as one Patrick Vieira.

Upon retiring, Garde built up a career as an esteemed pundit in France before eventually assuming control of first-team matters at Lyon in June 2011. Last season, he overcame financial difficulties to lead the French team to a creditable third-place finish.

However, Garde is still lacking in experience. By the summer of 2014, he will only have spent three full seasons as a manager. Perhaps Wenger will be forced to look outside his native France to nominate a successor.

Wenger is originally from Strasbourg, which is close to the dividing line between France and Germany. Wenger grew up admiring the great Bayern Munich sides, so perhaps the man to replace him could be found over the border.

Arsenal have been linked with moves for Dortmund's Jurgen Klopp by The Evening Standard and the German national team manager Joachim Low by The Sunday Times. Both men combine youthful and experience. They're also two of Europe's most highly regarded coaches.

Klopp may be out of Arsenal's reach by 2014, especially if he enjoys another successful Champions League campaign. Low, however, could be a realistic target.

Low would be attracted by Arsenal's reputation for stylish football and phenomenal facilities. He would also immediately take charge of two stalwarts of his German international squad in Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker.

There would inevitably be changes, both on and off the pitch. The likes of Steve Bould and Neil Banfield would probably be dismissed from their posts as first-team coach and assistant manager respectively. Low would want to bring in his own trusted aides.

Former Gunner Jens Lehmann, who has expressed an interest in a full-time coaching career according to John Edwards of the Daily Mail, could be a candidate to serve as Low's assistant. Lehmann's intimate knowledge of Arsenal's infrastructure and traditions would smooth out Low's adaptation period.

As Low is known for his focus on pure coaching, he might decide to appoint a Director of Football to function as the link between he and the board. Oliver Bierhoff, the General Manager of the German national team, would be an obvious choice.

Low's Arsenal team would probably abandon Wenger's possession-focused style and seek to replicate the lightning counterattacks of the German international side. To facilitate that tactical switch, Low might take advantage of Arsenal's renewed financial power to tempt the likes of Marco Reus—a player first linked with the club by the Daily Mail back in 2011—to swap the Bundesliga for the Barclays Premier League.

Per Mertesacker would replace Thomas Vermaelen as captain and form the focal point of an increasing German core in the squad. The experienced professionals would be joined in the first team by the emerging pair of Serge Gnabry and Thomas Eisfeld.

Arsene's francophone Arsenal could become Low's German Gunners overnight.

At this stage, it's merely a fantasy. However, if Arsenal fail to tie Arsene Wenger to a new deal it could swiftly become a reality.

The Wenger age is approaching an end, and a new era beckons.

Read more Arsene Wenger news on BleacherReport.com

Arsene Wenger vs. Jose Mourinho: Charting the Rivalry so Far

James McNicholas — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:00:01 -0400

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger are undoubtedly two of English football's greatest managerial icons.

Although Mourinho's initial spell with Chelsea only lasted for three seasons, the intense rivalry between the pair regularly spilled over into pure animosity.

With Jose Mourinho now reappointed as the manager of Chelsea, the two are set to lock horns once again.

Over the coming slides we chart the high and low points of the rivalry thus far, as well as looking forward to next season and beyond.

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Arsenal Transfer Rumors: The 4 Biggest Questions Arsene Wenger Must Address

Charlie Melman — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:00:00 -0400

Any Internet-browsing Arsenal fan will be bombarded with transfer rumors during every online sojourn this summer. Most will be false, and many of those will neglect the team's actual needs.

So where do the Gunners actually have to improve this summer?

While Arsenal are not quite as bad as some of the more pessimistic pundits would have you believe, their fourth-place finish—and struggle to get there—indicates that there is ample room for additions to the squad.

Let's look at four of the biggest areas that Arsene Wenger needs to look at.

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Arsene Wenger: 5 Candidates Who Are as Worthy of the Arsenal Job

Charlie Melman — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:32:31 -0400

Confession time: The title of this article is meant to grab your attention.

Because no one can truly replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, and there is certainly no manager today who could possibly be as worthy of the position that the Frenchman has used to transform the very perception of the club since 1996.

Wenger is the last of the "Old Guard," and his puffy coat can never truly be filled.

But the end is surely relatively close for the 63-year-old. Thus, Arsenal would do well to consider replacements as soon as possible so that a smooth transition of power can be made, as is being done at Old Trafford in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.

In the unlikely event that Wenger left his position today, here are five men who would be worthy of the position. Some are currently unavailable, but let us nevertheless analyze them in case of any future surprises.

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