Gary Breen believes Arsenal will be able to compete at the top of the Premier League again when Arsene Wenger ends his 22-year association with the club.
The French boss announced his decision to leave the Gunners at the end of the season on Friday despite having a year to run on the contract extension he agreed last summer.
And former Republic of Ireland international defender Breen expects Arsenal to challenge for major honours after their gradual regression under Wenger.
“I think it will be a relief for the Arsenal fans,” Breen told Off The Ball.
“Many turned on him, but they didn’t want to do that – they idolised Arsene Wenger. But like players, managers get old and the game passes them by and they’ve got to step aside.
“But I think Arsene Wenger was so adamant that he could turn it around and it was so obvious. But sometimes you’ve got to make a decision whether or not it’s in the interests of Arsenal football club for Wenger to stay there.
“And I think if you look at other managers – the likes of [Mauricio] Pochettino, he’s driving Tottenham forward. Sean Dyche at Burnley, [Pep] Guardiola at Manchester City, [Jurgen] Klopp [at Liverpool].
“But I think you could probably argue – and I think many Manchester United fans might say – that [Jose] Mourinho is not in the interest of Manchester United. I think [Antonio] Conte certainly isn’t at Chelsea now, because of the way things have turned out after his brilliant title winning season.
“And I think that’s a decision you have to make as a hierarchy. A lot of Arsenal fans were concerned that the owners would continue [to allow] Wenger dictate how long he stays there and when he moved away from the role.
“That’s why it’s been such a positive announcement for Arsenal because they feel they can now make plans to get back to the top of the league and compete. And I think many Arsenal fans will be disappointed that they lost out for the likes of Guardiola and Klopp, who maybe became available.
“It will be fascinating now to see who the hierarchy have identified as the man to take Arsene Wenger’s place. It’s going to be a difficult one but I don’t agree with the comparisons to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United – [it’s] completely different.
“Ferguson left a title winning team and he was always going to be difficult to replace in terms of what he achieved. Arsene Wenger will leave a brilliant club but one that’s no longer competitive at the top end of the league.”
Listen to LIVE Premier League commentary of Arsenal v West Ham with Nathan and Gary Breen from 1:30pm on Off the Ball on Sunday.
Written by James Hopper
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
