Arsenal Has Dilemma With The Wenger And Klopp Situation

At 65 years of age, Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger is most likely nearing the end of an outstanding career as a soccer manager.  Since going from a relatively little-known manager to being appointed as Arsenal’s leader in 1996, Wenger has without a doubt become one of the greatest managers in Premier League history.

During his 18 years in north London, Wenger has managed to win a total of 13 significant trophies with the Gunners.  Of the 13 triumphs, none was more impressive than his team’s 2003-04 Premier League title, a campaign in which the Gunners never recorded a loss in league play.  Arsenal became the first team to go undefeated in England’s top division in 115 years, and the first ever squad to do so during a 38 game season.

Wenger is also known for his ability to spot young talent, purchase them for a relatively cheap price, and make them into stars.  His “we do not buy superstars, we make them” beliefs helped ease the financial strain of building a new state of the art stadium, while still producing solid results on the pitch.

The Frenchman has unearthed soccer stars such as Patrick Vieira, Nicolas Anelka, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Cesc Fabregas, and most importantly Thierry Henry.

Although Wenger has endured a very positive and successful time at Arsenal, many fans of their beloved Gunners have recently called for the Frenchman to step down.  Despite guiding Arsenal to 18 consecutive Champions League appearances and 13 trophies, fans and pundits alike are suggesting that Wenger is too old and too set in his ways to lead Arsenal now.

The most talked about potential replacement for Wenger is current Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp.  The German is seemingly the ideal manager to take over at Arsenal once Wenger’s time is up, as Klopp has done a similar job at Dortmund as Wenger has done with the Gunners.

Klopp has also suggested that he would be open to a move to the Premier League.  The Dortmund manager recently told BT Sport, “It’s (England) the only country, I think, where I should work, really, next to Germany, because it’s the only country I know the language a little bit and I need the language for my work.  So we will see.  If somebody will call me, then we will talk about it.”

While Klopp would be a good fit at Arsenal, it’s Liverpool that is reportedly lining up the German to replace their manager following an abysmal start to the season.  Multiple media sources are claiming that the Merseyside club is leading the chase to bring Klopp to England.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has successfully brought the club back to Champions League play, however, a disappointing start to the current campaign paired with a relatively poor transfer record means that Rodgers’ time at Anfield could very well be cut short.

So what move should Arsenal make?  Do they make a proactive decision by releasing Wenger and go for the ideal replacement candidate in Klopp, or do they let Wenger finish out his current contract (expires in 2017), but potentially miss out on the chance to sign Klopp?

Ultimately, despite the fact that Klopp may be the perfect manager to fill Wenger’s shoes, I do not believe Arsenal will give Wenger his pink slip so early in the season.  The Frenchman has done an enormous amount of good for the north London club and the Arsenal brass has shown their loyalty to Wenger in the past.

Ironically enough, Klopp and Borussia Dortmund travel to England to play Wenger and Arsenal on Wednesday, in a Champions League group stage showdown.