Investigating Arsenal and Arsène Wenger: The Truth Behind the Emirates Era

Arsène Wenger’s 20-year tenure may finally be coming to an end and Arsenal will have to move forward without “Le Professeur.” I break his career into two “spells”: before moving into the Emirates and after moving into the Emirates. Wenger’s first spell was magnificent, but little did we know of what was to unfold later.

And while there have been a number of theories speculating as to what has pushed Wenger’s second spell to the brink of disaster, I piece together information looking at all of Arsenal’s failures – both on the pitch and behind the scenes – in a manner that has never been done before. Here is the truth behind the Emirates era.


This Season and Arsène Wenger’s Failings

After a lackluster 2015/16 season, Arsène Wenger and Arsenal were determined to improve the squad in the summer. The transfer window began with a welcome surprise: the £35 Million acquisition of world-class holding midfielder Granit Xhaka. However, Arsenal was struggling to get any other deals done despite the clear need to sign a long-term replacement for Per Mertesacker and a top striker.

Following an opening day defeat at home to Liverpool, Arsenal finally got their act together and signed £35 Million German international, Shkodran Mustafi and Deportivo de La Coruña forward Lucas Pérez. Arsenal then embarked on an unbeaten run led by Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez, Alex Iwobi and the resurgence of Theo Walcott. As per usual, things looked bright at the start of the season, but after a disjointed performance against Everton in December things have gone from bad to worse for the Gunners.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *