The former Arsenal legend Ian Wright has been the latest to put the pressure on the manager Arsene Wenger by saying that fans are deluded to be still holding a banner saying that they trust their manager.

Ian Wright has pointed out to the lack of trophies for the club in the last seven seasons, while they are looking unlikely to end the drought anytime soon. This is because of the exit from the League Cup at the hands of the League Two teams Bradford city. The League Cup is one of the realistic competitions that Arsenal can aim to win due to the lesser competition from the top teams.

However, they suffered a defeat on penalties to this low division team for the first time in almost 2 decades to crash out of the competition. Wenger’s position at the club has been questioned unlike never before in recent weeks. However, there has still been fans have been extremely loyal to the Frenchman by saying that they completely trust the manager. Ian Wright has questioned the thinking behind this support. He has said that Arsene Wenger always comes out with statements saying that his team have a lot of belief and quality, but it is yet to be seen on the pitch.

“There’s a lot of deluded Arsenal fans, who are out in the wilderness, still saying “In Arsene We Trust” and all that. It is a unique position that Wenger is in – I think that any other manager in any country, in any world, with a record like this and no prospect of light at the end of the tunnel – they would have been gone by now. And what I’ve said for years and years is that I want some transparency,” said Ian Wright in a recent radio chat.
… Read More STAND BY WENGER

The former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has said that the manager Arsene Wenger has a lot of problems ahead of him. Arsenal are currently in the seventh position behind the likes of Everton and Tottenham.

Their recent defeat at the hands of Manchester United only compounded the problems for the manager. Arsene Wenger has had to deal with the departure of Robin van Persie in the summer, while the future of the star striker Theo Walcott has also been in major speculation. The winger will be out of contract at the end of this season.

As a result, Arsene Wenger seems to be purposely avoiding the prospect of starting with the former Southampton winger, even though he has made a huge impact in the match as he has participated. Walcott has expressed his desire to play as a central striker for the club. Ian Wright has said that he is extremely annoyed at the Arsenal manager repeatedly saying that he wants to start Walcott as a striker, but is refusing to do so in the actual matches. Ian Wright has also questioned the form of the central defenders at the moment. Arsenal will be playing against Tottenham in the first North London Derby this season. They have a very poor record in this fixture over the last few seasons.

“The Arsenal boss is relying on a squad who in some cases are not up to it — and this worries me. I completely understand why the club’s fans were furious with Andre Santos for taking Robin van Persie’s shirt at half-time. But apart from the fact Santos is not good enough and doesn’t appear to care, Wenger has other major problems. It is baffling that Theo Walcott is repeatedly starting matches on the bench,” said Ian Wright after the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United for Arsenal.
… Read More ARSENAL HAVE PROBLEMS

The former Arsenal striker, Ian Wright, has praised Danny Welbeck and Jermain Defoe for their performance in the World Cup qualifier match against Ukraine which ended in the form of a draw. Wright said that he is pretty impressed with the body language of Defoe in the match, and told Tottenham news that Defoe had been as good as any stiker he could remember.

Defoe was on fire and he gave the Ukrainian defenders a tough time throughout the match. Defoe had found the net once in the match, but, that goal was disqualified by the referee. According to Wright, that was not the best of the decisions made by the referee and that goal shouldn’t have been disqualified. Danny Welbeck came on to the field to play as substitute in the second half of the match and he also played superbly.

The match was played at the Wembley Stadium, London on 11th September. A large number of English supporters were out there in the stadium to cheer for their team, but, the home team let the supporters down. The team didn’t manage to secure a win. There was one goal scored by each team and the scores were levelled at the end of the match. The English supporters would have expected their team to dominate the Ukrainian team in the entire 90 minutes of the match, but, the Ukrainian team showed great character and gave the English players a run for their money.

The English team was down by 1-0 till the 87th minute of the match and it seemed that the Ukrainian team was on the verge of pulling off a great upset, but, Frank Lampard saved English from a humiliating defeat by capitalizing on the penalty kick that the English team had earned towards the end of the match. Earlier in the match, Yevhen Konoplyanka had taken his team ahead by scoring a goal in the 39th minute. England will play its next World Cup qualifier match against San Marino next month at the same venue.
… Read More WRIGHT IMPRESSED WITH DEFOE

The former Arsenal striker and legend Ian Wright has said that that has to be a lot of questions asked on the future of Arsenal after they are set to lose the star striker Robin van Persie.

If the Dutchman leaves the club in the summer, then it would be the third major departure in consecutive seasons after the departure of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri last season. Arsenal have become a selling club according to Ian Wright and he has questioned the transparency over the finances of the club. Arsenal have moved into the top league in terms of the revenue generated in recent seasons due to the success of the Emirates stadium.

The 60,000 seater stadium was constructed six seasons ago and has been a major source of the revenue for Arsenal. However, the huge burden of the construction cost seem to be far outweighing the advantages because the club have been selling a number of the top players in subsequent seasons with no major additions. While the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City are bringing in players for around £ 40 million, Arsenal have been looking at the £ 10 million players in the last few seasons. It has contributed to their downfall in the league according to Ian Wright.

“How the hell did a club of Arsenal’s standing and resources get to the point where they are forced to wave goodbye to at least one top star every year? Since Thierry Henry decided in 2007 he had to leave in order to win the Champions League there has been a steady stream of players through the exit door at The Emirates,” said Ian Wright in a recent interview. Arsenal are set to pocket around £ 30 million from the sale of Robin van Persie, who is linked with Manchester United.
… Read More A LOT OF QUESTIONS

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has criticised the approach by England manager Roy Hodgson in the opening group game at the Euro 2012. England were facing France in the opening group game knowing that they needed to avoid defeat at all cost in order to stay in the hunt for the quarter-final spot.

England opened the scoring in the first half through Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott after a fantastic free kick from Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard. After the advantage, England defended with numbers in the back, which has been reminiscent of the way Chelsea played in the Champions League.

After the 1-1 draw with the French, there has been a lot of criticism for the manager Roy Hodgson, who has decided to use negative tactics in his opening competitive fixture as the manager of the England national team. Ian Wright has said that the way England played against France was extremely unacceptable, but has said that the result was extremely delightful because it puts them with great opportunity to make it into the quarter-final stage. England are not expected to win the tournament, but such defending can pave the way to an unlikely success according to Wright.

“I’d have to say we were okay but not great. I thought we could nick it 2-1 beforehand – but only if we had a different approach to the defensive way we played. Yes, we were hard to beat and that will continue to be the case with England under Roy. Yes, we knew France would have a lot of the ball, and we’d be frustrated at times. But the fact I could only see us scoring from a set piece pretty much sums up what we got,” said Ian Wright after the 1-1 draw with France. The other group match finished as a win for Ukraine.

… Read More WRIGHT CRITICISES HODGSON

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has made his first major move towards becoming a manager at a football club after taking over the role as the first team coach at MK Dons.

Ian Wright is considered as one of the greatest strikers in the history of Arsenal, while he has an impeccable record in the Premier league. This is his first major move into becoming a football manager. He has been working as a pundit up until now. The former Arsenal striker will be joining the club as the first team coach, while ex-Luton town manager Mick Harford will be joining the club as the assistant manager.

Mick Harford will be replacing John Gorman, who will be retiring at the end of the season. The current MK Dons manager Karl Robinson has said that the experience that Ian Wright will provide to the team will be invaluable, despite the fact that he is yet to take his qualifications. Ian Wright has revealed that he is right now undergoing the steps in order to obtain his qualifications as a football manager. Harford has been out of work since leaving Luton town back in 2009 and it is a major moment for him to return back to football.

“Ian Wright hasn’t got his qualifications yet but he is working towards them and he will provide invaluable experience, knowledge and inspiration to our players. For a while Ian will work with the team through the week, he can’t be with us at weekends because of other contractual commitments, but he will be here Monday to Friday and he will be involved in all our midweek games,” said Robinson. “I am thankful to Karl for allowing me the chance to start my coaching career and I am already excited about the new season,” said Ian Wright.
… Read More WRIGHT TAKES ON MK DONS

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, who continues to write columns in major daily papers in England, has said that FIFA President Sepp Blatter should immediately resigned from his post after making controversial comments about racism in world football.

Ian Wright was set to become one of the members to host the Ballon d’Or award function that is set to be held in Zürich, but the former Arsenal striker has said that he will not be hosting the function should Sepp Blatter not apologise for his comments over racism.

The Ballon d’Or award is going to be given to either Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Xavi. Ian Wright was one of the major personalities set to host this function, but it has been now revealed that the former Arsenal striker will not be keen on hosting this function. FIFA president Sepp Blatter recently said that racism should not be allowed to interfere with the game too much and that the game should be continued with just a handshake.

This has, unsurprisingly, produced a strong reaction back in England where Sepp Blatter is being viewed as the public enemy number one. Even though there has been little overreaction in other countries, England has been one of the major adversaries for Sepp Blatter in the last few years.

‘I will not compromise my beliefs on certain things just for exposure and this is definitely one of them. If he doesn’t come out and apologise then there’s no way I can do it. And if he does apologise then surely that means he’s got to go, doesn’t it?,’ said Ian Wright in his column for The Sun. The Ballon d’Or award is going to take place in Zürich on January 9th. It is one of the most awaited awards of the year.

… Read More WRIGHT CALLS ON BLATTER TO QUIT