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gun to the dogs

Neil Ashton: Arsene Wenger has to leave Arsenal and it’s time to start building a team to finally win trophies

AT least Steve Bould showed a bit of passion.

Shouting, screaming, ranting, he hurled a water bottle against a wall when he got to the dressing room.

 Wenger and his team had no answers to the Bayern onlsaught and must go
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Wenger and his team had no answers to the Bayern onlsaught and must goCredit: PA:Press Association


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The inner rage, the anger, the frustration gripped him after Arsenal’s humiliating 5-1 defeat inside the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.

One or two players looked up from the floor. Others stayed in their seats, eyes glazed over, staring straight ahead at the white walls.

Bould had heard, as everybody had heard, Bayern Munich’s stadium announcer chortle “ha, ha, ha” when Thomas Muller tucked away their fifth.

The club Bouldy loves is being laughed out of town.

 Wenger is believed to be leaving in the summer after another disappointing campaign
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Wenger is believed to be leaving in the summer after another disappointing campaignCredit: Getty Images

Arsene Wenger’s plan, to contain Bayern to make sure Arsenal had a shot at beating them in the second leg on March 7, had been shredded.

He talked about it before the game but did not spend enough time working on it when they were on the training ground.

That is what happens when a 67-year-old man tries to be manager, coach, CEO, tactician, accountant and chief scout rolled into one.

Wenger has lost his edge.

Arsenal could have lived with a single goal defeat in the first leg, a 2-1 or a 1-0, against one of European football’s elite clubs.

Then they would have been in with a chance when they brought Bayern back to the Emirates.

 Wednesday's result comes as a huge blow to Arsene Wenger and adds to the pressure surrounding his future
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Wednesday's result comes as a huge blow to Arsene Wenger and adds to the pressure surrounding his futureCredit: PA:Press Association

They planned to counter quickly and effectively, to use Alexis Sanchez and his relentless running as an out ball.

It worked, briefly. The ease of this demolition — with second-half goals from Robert Lewandowski, Thiago Alcantara and Muller — has split Arsenal’s dressing room.

Wenger’s message, repeated in team meetings, was that they would only beat Bayern Munich over two legs, not one.

Instead they are out of it already, after 90 minutes.

 At least Steve Bould showed some passion in the defeat
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At least Steve Bould showed some passion in the defeatCredit: Getty Images

So why did they ignore their manager, falling to pieces the moment captain Laurent Koscielny limped off with a suspected hamstring injury after 49 minutes.

They lost their shape after that, along with their desire and discipline.

The negativity will be felt in every area of the club, with the dark cloud of that brutal defeat hanging over them until they finally get the second leg out of the way.

This stench will follow them to Sutton United on Monday, then on to Liverpool on March 4, three days before they must play Carlo Ancelotti’s side in this dead rubber.

Bayern are the reference point from here on.

Wenger was still carrying out his post-match media duties when the players trudged through the mixed zone without stopping to say a word.

The club were entitled to expect a better, stronger message than the one delivered by the manager, abjectly, over two minutes and 50 seconds.

Imagine Sir Alex Ferguson on the end of a hiding like that at Manchester United without making sure the players knew it would never happen again on his watch?

Well it happens at Arsenal every year.

Wenger is to blame for that because he put this group of players together, trusting them to finish in the top four of the Premier League every year.

The bosses — owner Stan Kroenke — are delighted with this money-making machine.

Trophies look good but money makes Kroenke’s world go round.

Arsenal were valued at around £750million when the US tycoon upped his investment to 66 per cent in 2011. Six years on and Arsenal are worth around £1.4billion.

 Arsenal players are clearly devastated after the 5-1 hammering by Bayern Munich
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Arsenal players are clearly devastated after the 5-1 hammering by Bayern MunichCredit: Getty Images

Finish fourth and everybody at Arsenal — including Wenger on his £8m-a-year salary — gets paid.

The supporters, paying through the nose to watch Arsenal, are being short-changed.

It is time for Wenger to walk away from this.

On the pitch the players do not have the constitution, the mentality of champions, to take on the elite.

That would mean taking responsibility, in the way that Bould, Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and the rest of the gang did when Wenger arrived in English football.

 Joachim Low is Neil Ashton's choice to take over at the Emirates
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Joachim Low is Neil Ashton's choice to take over at the EmiratesCredit: Reuters

You had to play bloody well to beat that lot.

That winning mentality, that desire, was carried on to the next generation when a superior group of attacking players arrived at Arsenal.

Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and — for a while — Sol Campbell never quite knew when they were beaten.

They were a stubborn bunch.

Now they have a group of one-touch footballers with hearts the size of peas.

Low'n Behold

THEY should not have left Germany without him.
Joachim Low, World Cup winner in 2014, is the bang-up-to-date version of Arsene Wenger. A thinker. A motivator. A winner.
When Arsenal choose Wenger’s successor, Germany’s coach must be at the very top of their list.
Low (right) is credited, among others, with redefining German football following the post-Euro 2004 gloom.
In 2014 his parting shot before the squad left for Brazil was to hold up four fingers for the cameras. Germany demanded another World Cup — and got it.
Low’s inspirational words to Mario Gotze — “show you are better than Messi” — when he sent him on in the final against Argentina proved decisive. He scored the winner, delivering Germany’s first World Cup since Italia 90.
Low was the brains behind it, with his tactical acumen and his abilities as an organiser marking him out as one of the games’ leading voices.
They were once qualities associated with Wenger when he arrived in English football nearly 21 years ago.
Wenger remains a statesmanlike figure. Unfortunately the game has left him behind.
Low’s career is still in front of him. To prise him away from Germany would be a remarkable achievement.
At the very least, Arsenal must ask the question.

Other Candidates

Eddie Howe: 

PROS: Plays the beautiful game in the style of Arsene Wenger.
CONS: Bournemouth boss Howe has a lack of experience generally — and specifically on the European stage.

Diego Simeone:

PROS: A natural-born winner who led Atletico Madrid to the Spanish title in 2014 despite the power of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
CONS: Plays negative, dour football and does not speak English.

Patrick Vieira:

PROS: An Arsenal man who knows the club inside out.
CONS: While he may be a Gunners legend, the New York City coach lacks experience in top-level management.

Max Allegri:

PROS: Led AC Milan to first league title in seven years before winning three in a row with Juventus, who he took to Champions League final.
CONS: Hard to judge strengths due to the waning power of Serie A.

Leonardo Jardim:

PROS: The Monaco boss has created a brilliant team full of attacking flair and goals.
CONS: His only trophies were won with Olympiakos in Greece.

Thomas Tuchel:

PROS: Impressive in Germany with Mainz before replacing Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund for second-place finish in his first season.
CONS: Struggling this term with Dortmund in fourth in the Bundesliga.

Losing that character, the mentality that once defined the club, is down to Wenger.

He still gets vexed by results, with his clenched fists still shaking with anger when he arrived for his post-match duties.
Sadly for Wenger, he has lost his grip.

There is no pleasure to be had from dancing on somebody’s grave.

But, now, the time has come for him to go.

And the time has come for Arsenal to start building a team fit for winning major trophies again.

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