Happy birthday, Arsene Wenger! The Arsenal boss turns 65 today, but he says: "I won't celebrate. I am not a celebrator of birthdays. I just think what is important is my team performs well."
He’s taken a flight out to Anderlecht for a crucial Champions League tie. But he’s more interested in points than presents. Wenger is not one to dwell on landmarks: he’s more inclined to look forward than back. That being the case, it can’t have escaped his attention that a huge decision lurks on the horizon.
Wenger is now one of the English game’s elder statesmen. In the Premier League, the only manager older than 65 is QPR’s Harry Redknapp, and he seems to be hurtling hurriedly towards retirement.
Wenger, however, is just five months in to a new three year deal. Despite the pressure heaped upon him by Arsenal’s poor start to the season, he’s defiant. Outwardly, he is not contemplating quitting the dugout:
“My father was not in football, I had no red carpet to get where I am and I had to fight and work hard every day and that is what I did every day. As long as I am capable of doing it, I will do it.”
His detractors might ask, “capable of doing what?”.
There’s no point in prolonging without progress. It’s legitimate to question whether Wenger’s ability still matches Arsenal’s ambitions. He’s shown he can finish fourth with unerring regularity, but that is no longer enough to satisfy the Emirates crowd. He delivered an FA Cup last season, but has not won a league title in more than a decade.
There are serious question marks over whether or not he is still able to compete at football’s elite level. The fear is that modern management is evolving beyond Wenger’s methodology. You’re only a revolutionary once, and the brightest coaches in Europe are now part of a different generation. Pep Guardiola is just 43, Jose Mourinho only 51.
Wenger, whose fabled foresight once made him a pioneer, is now playing catch-up. He laid hands on Mourinho on the touchline at Stamford Bridge, but he can’t get near his team on the pitch.
Arsenal fans can take some comfort from the fact that there is football precedent for old dogs learning new tricks. Sir Alex Ferguson emerged from a four-year dry spell to win five Premier League titles between turning 65 and retiring at 71. Jupp Heynckes won a Champions League with Bayern aged 68, 17 years after his previous European triumph.
However, those managers had people around them that helped them to adapt. Ferguson (above) was a famous delegator, recruiting younger staff to revitalise his reign. Heynckes, meanwhile, benefited from being surrounded by a Bayern hierarchy stocked with former players. The likes of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge offered guidance and, when required, a little pressure. By contrast, Wenger is an autocrat. Starved of outside influence, his regime has gone somewhat stale.
At one stage, Wenger didn’t think he’d make it this far. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, he insisted he’d walk away from management by the time he was 64. However, letting go has not proved easy. The club is cast in his image, right down to the most detailed specification. He’s overseen the construction of a training ground, a stadium, and a modern superclub. Breaking that bond will be enormously difficult.
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