Speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast, Martin Keown has been discussing Arsene Wenger, and he’s claimed that he should still be at Arsenal as a board member.
The Frenchman is undoubtedly one of the biggest legends in the London club’s history, and while the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Bobby Robson were given roles on the board at their clubs when their managerial stints ended, Wenger had a clean break away from Arsenal.
The Frenchman hasn’t gone back into management, he’s instead taken up the role of FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, but Keown believes Arsenal have missed a trick by not keeping Wenger on.
What’s Keown said?
The former centre-back was speaking about his old gaffer.
“He was one of the footballing greats, a great visionary, Arsene Wenger. That team, when I left in 2004, was capable of doing whatever it wanted and whatever it chose to do, but it fell away and Wenger couldn’t find that winning formula again. He stayed too long, he fell in love with the club as we all did, and he chose the wrong moment to leave,” Keown said.
“I do believe he should be on the board, he should be upstairs at this football club, and it still needs guidance, I don’t think at the moment it’s completely right. Arteta, I do think he’s the right man, but we’re not showing any consistency and in the transfer market we need to improve as well.”
Didn’t make sense
As romantic as it would have been for Wenger to have stayed at Arsenal, it didn’t make sense at the time.
Nobody knew what Wenger wanted to do after leaving Arsenal, and it was widely thought that he’d want to continue his managerial career elsewhere.
Of course, it hasn’t quite worked out that way, but back in 2018, a spot on the Arsenal board didn’t make much sense for Wenger.
Perhaps this is something Arsenal would want to revisit if Wenger leaves his FIFA role.
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