Arsenal legend tells Wenger his days are numbered if ...
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Arsenal legend Smith tells Wenger his days are numbered if the Gunners fail again
Top Gunner: Smith has growing concerns about what is happening at his old club
Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith has issued a warning to 'stubborn' Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, advising the manager his job could be on the line if Arsenal struggle again next season.
Smith, who won two League titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup with Arsenal between 1987 and 1995, said Wenger's single-mindedness was in danger of undermining the club.
The 46-year-old said: 'Like all the great managers, Wenger is unbelievably stubborn. No matter what others say, he won't be swayed from his path.
'Yet we seem to have arrived at a point whereby the man in charge is deliberately ignoring the general consensus, whether or not it's right for the team.
'By that I mean refusing to buy a commanding centre half and a strong anchorman to break up the play. Those positions, after all, would seem to be crying out for new blood.
'Wenger, however, shows no signs of agreeing. It's as if the more times he's urged by outsiders to do one thing, the more determined he becomes to do the opposite.'
Smith, a 6ft target man who scored 115 goals in 347 Arsenal appearances, also questioned the logic of signing 'yet another diminutive playmaker' in the form of Russia striker Andrey Arshavin.
'Arshavin might well be a great success at Arsenal but you suspect the £14million could have been spent better elsewhere,' said Smith.
Under pressure: But Wenger won't be told what to do
'Where once he made a habit of recruiting strong, imposing athletes who could also play (Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Gilberto), Wenger now seems to prefer a much smaller type. This new version, granted, brims with technical finesse but, on the negative side, can't always cope with a physical Premier League.'
While Smith ridiculed the idea that Wenger's 13-year reign at Arsenal would come to an end this season, he said the board would have to re-think their position if the Gunners' present form continued into 2010.
'The game isn't up. Not by a long chalk,' Smith said. 'Wenger has done more than enough to earn some leeway. 'Mind you, if this present trend continues deep into next season, those dissenting voices will get louder. That's when the board will have to think carefully.
'No one is immune from taking stick. It costs a lot of money to get into the Emirates and an audience used to beautiful football isn't going to sit quietly while Rome seemingly burns.
'It's worth adding, too, that many of these punters are new to the scene. They don't go back to the early 1980s when things were really bad.'
Smith, speaking to The Daily Telegraph, blamed the lack of leaders in Arsenal's squad for the club's current plight, bemoaning the absence of strong figures who would fight for the team when things weren't going so well.
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Just like ah ben. Both shall be sacked if fail to deliver something.
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Originally posted by CannyOng:
Just like ah ben. Both shall be sacked if fail to deliver something.
well, potato-man got "get out of jail" card with the UCL win.. and most fans worshop him.. as for wenger, isn't he the most successful manager in their history? I think he will leave only when he wants to leave.