It's time for a change at Arsenal.. and if Arsene won't do it, Jose will

By Robbie Savage

Published 22:59 16/02/12

I've seen at first hand why Giggs would be a great successor to Fergie

Kenny got it wrong over Suarez but he'll get it right on the pitch  

It's hard to look shabby in Milan but Arsenal managed it... and now it must be time for a change of style at the Emirates.

Over the next few days and weeks, Arsene Wenger must look at himself in the mirror and decide whether he is the man to deliver it. Or whether it's time to slip away quietly and with dignity.

Is he prepared to admit he was wrong and rip up the side he has put so much misplaced faith in? Or is he going to leave it to someone else? Because In Arsene We Trust is no longer an option.

Look, we all knew back in August that Arsenal would fall short again this season - and that would have been my assessment even if Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri had stayed.

The current crop of players who Wenger has been predicting will come good so so many years simply aren't good enough to compete at the top.

Not now, not when Jack Wilshere gets back, not if Financial Fair Play gets brought in.

Not without the addition of four or five superstar buys. And maybe not even then.

It is time for a huge change of mindset and of personnel. And if Wenger won't do it then two outstanding candidates who are likely to be available in the summer probably will

Jose Mourinho looks a cert to leave Real Madrid. The way he plays football might not be to Wenger's liking, but there's no doubt that he would bring silverware back to the Emirates.

Pep Guardiola's Barcelona future is in doubt too. Again, he would be an excellent choice and I think both men would be attainable for an outfit that is still one of the world's top 10 clubs.

Tottenham fans might sneer at that, and say they have more of a chance of landing either man in the summer to replace Harry Redknapp. But despite their great strides on the pitch, Tottenham will be too far behind financially until they get their new stadium. That's when you'll get the likes of Mourinho and Guardiola paying attention.

I have been one of Wenger's fiercest critics in recent times. I don't like his lack of grace in defeat and I don't think any other Premier League managers in his position would have got away with six trophyless years.

But as I took in Arsenal's Champions League devastation, all I could think about was what a great manager he has been, one who has created some wonderful sides, developed magnificent players and changed our game for the better in so many ways.

And when you're thinking like that, it usually tells you something. It's the end of an era.

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ROBBIE'S STORY OF THE WEEK

After a month on the Strictly Come Dancing tour, I finally won my first audience vote and lifted the coveted Glitterball on Wednesday night.

Of course, the fact that we were in Cardiff and I was dancing while wrapped in a Welsh flag had absolutely nothing to do with it.

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