Why I am glad I'm not Arséne Wenger

The imaginary role of football manager is one often played by football fans. Regardless of how much a manager has achieved for their club, or how little the fans know of what it took to reach those achievements, there is often an unspoken sentiment which says that the supporters know best. After all, in an age where money, glitz and glam dominates the football landscape, the fans seem to be the only ones who have a real, irrevocable love for their club. Their passion is what makes the beautiful game more than just a spectacle of skill. This same passion can lead them to believe that what they want for the club is the best thing for the club, given that they only have the clubs best interests at heart. But sometimes, we fans need to swallow our pride and lower our voices, and acknowledge that some things can only be achieved by the single-minded drive and vision of a single man. For Arsenal Football Club, that man, is Arséne Wenger.

The rhetoric about how he revolutionised not just London's finest, but English football as a whole cannot be overstated. He surpassed the achievements of one of Arsenal's other great managers, George Graham, but by playing an unprecedented brand of football. His reversal of "Boring, boring Arsenal" is the reason why the Gunners are loved by many, and disliked by few in comparison.

His early success allowed him to ride out a difficult period between 2005 and 2014, a period that both in terms of the length of time and the absence of trophies would have spelt the end for the modern football manager. There are those who refuse to allow the recent FA Cup wins to salve the pain of those barren years, but the vast majority of level-headed Arsenal fans realise that right now, Arsenal FC are a club on the up. The world-class arrivals of Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech in consecutive seasons strongly indicate that the shackles are off, and the red of London can burn bright once more.

But all the recent success, both on the field and in Mr Wenger's office, brings me to the real reason for writing this article. Yes, I could go on about Arsenal's glorious past, but I won't, because real winners always look to the future and there lies a lot of hard in Wenger's.

The acquisition of Petr Cech gives me full conference in our defence, which has steadily improved over the past three seasons anyway. At the other end of the pitch, our frontline is perhaps one major signing away from being the deadly force that is required to win the Premier League. A strong, pacey, tenacious forward (CAVANI) is needed.

The unfortunate fact is that while signings solve one problem, they compound another: team selection and management. I could not bear to see the likes of Wilshere, Ramsey, Walcott, Giroud or Oxlade-Chamberlain leave the club to seek guaranteed game time. Because, if additions to our midfield and strike-force are made, game time that will satisfy all our hungry ambitious players will be something that can't be guaranteed.

For example, there is talk of Arturo Vidal joining us. The only way I can see that working out is if Vidal can be converted into a DM, and only a DM. His aggression and tenacity make him an ideal candidate for the position, but, contrary to popular belief, he is more attack minded than he is defensively minded. There is more chance of him being converted into a bullish, chase-down-the-ball-for-ninety-minutes type striker than a DM in my opinion. He just isn't by default, a DM.

For that reason (and many, many others), I would love to see Arsenal go all out for the star of the 2015 u21 European Championship, William Carvalho. I have a strong feeling he could be the next Pogba, and a Pogba-like player is exactly what we need. Strong, supremely confident, and intelligent, Carvalho would be worth the hefty cheque we'd probably have to send Sporting. In short, Arsenal need Cavani and Carvalho.

Fitting these two into the team shouldn't be a problem. Cavani would certainly slot straight in at centre-forward and Carvalho would be Coquelin's only competition for DM. Simple. What isn't going to be so simple, is what to do about our right back, goalkeeper, and winger situation.

The first headache, the right back position, is both exciting and disconcerting. Bellerin, Debuchy and Jenkinson all had excellent seasons, all be it Jenkinson's was on loan at West Ham. So what does Wenger do now? Does he bin Debuchy, the older man, and let the youngsters fight it out for a place? Does he risk Jenkinson's disenchantment with Arsenal by sending the boyhood gooner out on loan again? Bellerin is almost certainly first choice, but rotating him with another right back while still making him feel like a crucial part of the team will be tricky.

The goalkeeping problem is similar. With Cech joining in search of more game time, and Szczesny committed to staying, Ospina looks the most likely to be sold. But who knows? Maybe Wenger will dispose of Szczesny despite his loyalty to the club? Or he could bin Ospina after just one decent season at Arsenal. Both moves would be very harsh. But we said we wanted a more ruthless Arséne Wenger, didn't we?

Lastly, the winger situation is equally tricky, with Alexis, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Welbeck and even Ramsey deployed on the wings over the course of last season. Each of them are useful for a different reason, but there's only space for two: left and right wing.

Personally, I'd like to see Ospina and Jenkinson loaned out. Cech and Wojciech would have the club in safe hands, while Ospina (a very good keeper, mind) could be recalled in the case of emergencies. Which could happen. Jenkinson's patience will be tested by another loan, but he will come back stronger for it, both mentally and physically.

But it isn't up to me, it's up to Arséne Wenger. There is no doubt he knows what he's doing, but what he will do nobody knows. Balancing the inflows and outflows at the Emirates, in order to keep both new arrivals and long-time players happy, will be a challenging task but one I trust Wenger to perform with the class and wisdom that has characterised his time with Arsenal. I'm just glad I don't have his job.

*Having said all that, Podolski, Sanogo, Campbell, Flamini, and Arteta must be sold. Do it Arséne!