Arsenal want to make sure when time comes they manage process of appointing right successor to Frenchman more smoothly given what happened at Manchester United. Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, has looked ahead to life after Arsene Wenger and admitted that replacing their “giant” of a manager will be the club’s greatest challenge. Wenger signed a new three-year contract at the end of last season and no timescale has been given on his eventual exit but, after 18 years with one manager, the club have given thought to their succession planning. According to Gazidis, the aim is to move from being “off the shoulder of the world’s top teams” to joining the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich at the very top table of European football. Wenger, says Gazidis, has steered the club expertly to this point but knows that the “transition” is ultimately nearing and Arsenal will clearly want to manage that process rather more smoothly than the comparable challenge at Manchester United of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. “So much of the attention on a football club is around an individual and that’s very understandable at Arsenal because we have a giant who’s managing us,” Gazidis told Arsenal. “Arsène has been a fantastic driver and has put the club in a great, great position. The biggest challenge we’re going to face as a club is that, when that transition from Arsène to the next manager of our football club happens - and I don’t know when that’s going to be - that we come through that strongly.” Gazidis also admitted that, while he has moments when he wants to “shout and scream” at home and sometimes has sleepless nights, he has been inspired to build even deeper foundations to win more trophies after this year’s FA Cup success. “Winning the FA Cup was a fantastic moment,” said Gazidis. “In my life, that’s one of my greatest moments. The moment you get away from that euphoria of the moment, the next question is, ‘How do we have more of that?’ “We want this football club to be at the top of the world’s game. If the manager believes in someone like Mesut Ozil, he can buy him. It’s the same with Alexis Sanchez. Underneath that tip of the iceberg, those star signings that we talk a lot about, there’s an awful lot else going on. Our youth development, for example, is going to be the foundation of this football club going forward. “Where we are currently is off the shoulder of the world’s top teams. I don’t think we’re at that level yet but that’s where we’re aiming to get to. We want Arsenal to be in that elite group of football clubs around the world.”
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 08:57:28 +0000
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