Those fans who criticise Wenger should be careful what they wish for
The headlines everywhere are saying Arsene Wenger is in trouble. That he's under pressure. They'll be asking if his time is up at Arsenal. Because there is no getting away from it, if Cesc Fabregas joins Barcelona this week it will be a big blow to the club.
But here's the question you have to ask: who's the clever one and who are the dummies? Arsene Wenger has qualified for the Champions League every season since 1998. And Arsenal are making money as a club, not losing millions.
So they haven't won a trophy for six years? Well, Manchester United went 26 years without winning the league, Liverpool have now gone 21 years without the title and Manchester City went 35 years without winning a trophy. Tottenham have gone 50 years without winning the league.
Right man: Arsenal will not find a better manager than
Arsene Wenger
I grew up as a United fan in the Seventies and Eighties when the club won three trophies in 20 years.
It's not easy. Sometimes you have cycles where trophies are hard to come by. What you don't do is panic when you have the right manager.
This is a manager who has won three Premier League titles and taken Arsenal to a Champions League final. Can a manager come to the end of his road at a club? Yes, he can. But I don't actually believe Arsene Wenger has. I believe he is the right manager for Arsenal.
In the last six years, it's been clear that Arsenal have not been able to spend huge amounts on the team because they've invested £390million in a stadium to set themselves up for the next 60 years, not for the next six years. They've invested in the infrastructure of the cluband it's a sustainable model. That's why in 50 years' time, Arsenal will still be a great football club.
Exodus: Cesc Fabregas (right) and Samir Nasri (centre) are
set to leave
Six years is nothing. These spells happen. In 100 years' time people will look at those six years and say: 'To be honest, weweren't able to spend £70m, or even £30m, every year, because we had just built the most incredible stadium.' And I'll tell you what, when that stadium is paid
for in 15 years' time and when there are 60,000 people paying what they pay, week in, week out, Arsenal will be in a great position. You make decisions for the long term. You don't go and cripple yourself financially and I believe Arsenal will be successful long after we've gone.
If you buy a house, you're investing for 20 years of your life. And in those first few years, when the mortgage payments are a bit tough, unfortunately you might have to cut down on your holidays. That's the equivalent of what Arsene Wenger has done these last six years.
He is trying to produce players through his youth system and trying to find them through his scouting network and it's a sustainable model. And that's why Arsenal will still be around as a great football club in decades to come.
Sustainable model: Wenger has built a legacy at
Arsenal
At this moment in time everyone will be panicking that they might be losing Fabregas. But this is about 125 years of history at a football club and going on for another 100 years. I've been around football long enough to see teams come and go, like Blackburn Rovers did in the Nineties. This is not about producing a football team that can be successful in the next 10 minutes.
Of course, everyone wants instant success, but the most important thing is that you have a tradition running through your club that identifies your values. That's what I think Arsenal have. I would be frustrated if I was an Arsenal fan, but I wouldn't be panicking and that's not being condescending or patronising. I'd be saying exactly the same if it were United. In fact, you've seen it at United.
When Sir Alex Ferguson sold Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis and Paul Ince in 1995 and Paul Scholes, Nicky ****, David Beckham, myself and my brother Phil were breaking into the team, the headline in the Manchester Evening News was: 'Should Fergie Go?' People from outside can be
begging you to sign a player, but it can galvanise the players internally to come together.
One for the future: Aaron Ramsey will be at Arsenal for
years to come
Look at Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey and the opportunities that exist for them. Wilshere has already seized his chance and now Ramsey also has the opportunity to become a top player at a top club.
If you asked Arsene Wenger whether he would like to sign one or two players before the end of the transfer window, then I'm sure he would say: 'Absolutely.' But if you're asking me if he should rush in a panic and spend £30m, I would say not only that he shouldn't, but also that I don't think he would do that. And if I were an Arsenal fan, I would support him in that.
When United sold Cristiano Ronaldo in similar circumstances for £80m, everyone thought the money would be shelled out straight away. But Sir Alex Ferguson decided to sit back, watch and wait and believe in the players he had. And during that time he won a league title and reached a Champions League final.
Top class: Jack Wilshere has become a brilliant player
under Wenger's guidance
Arsene Wenger will do something similar if he can't find what he believes to be value. He's just bought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the future, so why spend £25m on somebody whose price will be inflated? It wouldn't surprise me that, if he feels he is having the mickey taken by other clubs, he just sat there and said: 'I believe in my young players.'
Of course, everyone can see that they would be helped by some core defensive players in the English style (but it's not as if they haven't been trying to sign them). Of course, they have to cut out the mistakes that saw them lose a 4-0 lead at Newcastle last season and improve at set-pieces. And, right now, United, Chelsea and possibly City look stronger title contenders. But I wouldn't write them off. I've had too many toughcontests with Wenger's teams over the years to do that.
Would any other manager have extracted more from those players and been able to draw so many young players through to the top level and create such a great team for so little money? The answer is there is only one other man who has done that in the Premier League.
Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.
Read more: Gary Neville: Arsenal fans shouldn't criticise Arsene Wenger | Mail Online
