Arsenal, beware: Manchester United show perils of failed succession planning

Greg Lea writes that in their Premier League opponents Manchester United, Arsenal will get a glimpse this weekend of what could go wrong when Arsene Wenger steps down.

Arsene Wenger has Arsenal third in the Premier League this season, two points off the lead. Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images

It was a rivalry that had it all.

There was drama and devilry, contention and controversy, aggression and antipathy. From great goals and classic matches to food fights and rows in the tunnel, the long-running feud between two of English football’s most historic clubs delivered time and time again both on and off the pitch.

With star-studded squads overseen by a pair of managers who became completely synonymous with their respective outfits, the battles between Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in the late 1990s and early 2000s were among the most enjoyable the Premier League has ever seen.

Things have changed somewhat in the years since, and the meeting between the two sides at Old Trafford Sunday will not generate the palpable feeling of friction and enmity that the same fixture routinely produced a decade ago.

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That is partly a result of the nature of the modern game, but it also has a lot to do with the concentration of power in the hands of the duo during that period, with Arsenal and United sharing the nine titles on offer between 1996 and 2004.

Things are different these days: Arsenal have not lifted the trophy since 2004 and United since Ferguson claimed his 13th winner’s medal in 2013. With the third anniversary of their former leader’s abdication fast approaching, United appear to be even further away from finishing on top of the pile again than they were when he departed.

Ferguson’s successor David Moyes lasted just 10 months at the helm, with the former Everton chief patently out of his depth. Louis van Gaal has been just as much of a disappointment, taking the club backwards this term after only managing a fourth-place finish in his debut campaign last time out.

It has been an unusual time for United and their fans, who had grown accustomed to challenging for the biggest honours on an annual basis.

Their current points tally is the lowest they have registered at this stage of the campaign in the Premier League era, while their run without a piece of silverware could be about to reach a third full season – their worst record since the 1980s.

United’s sheer size and financial muscle means they will return to football’s top table at some point in the future, but their botched handling of the initial post-Ferguson years provides plenty of lessons for Arsenal as they begin to tentatively consider how they should go about trying to replace their own managerial stalwart when he eventually decides to call it a day.

Wenger’s current contract runs until 2017; although he has no plans to step aside in the short-term, there will inevitably come a time when the 66-year-old joins his old foe in retirement.

Just like Ferguson, control at Arsenal belongs almost exclusively to Wenger. United have been criticised for lacking a support structure around their former manager but he himself was the structure, a head coach, leading scout and director of football all rolled into one. It was always going to be difficult to fill the vacuum when he stepped aside in 2013.

The set-up is similar at the Emirates Stadium, where Wenger’s longevity has afforded him a level of power that is no longer attainable for modern-day managers elsewhere.

As such, a plan must be put in place behind the scenes at Arsenal so that the transition to a new model can be more seamless than United’s bumbling attempts to adapt to a post-Ferguson world, which has seen the unqualified Ed Woodward flounder whenever he is required to dabble in football rather than commercial matters.

It will not be easy. Wenger, now into his 20th season in North London, has shaped the entire club in his image, winning four league titles and six FA Cups along the way.

Arsenal need only to look at their upcoming opponents’ experience in the last three years to realise just how difficult the process of preparing for life after the Frenchman is going to be.

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