Why Thomas Tuchel and Michael Zorc is the partnership Arsenal need
Arsenal need a new direction
There was a time when Arsenal were a club managed with the kind of care that you’d observe with the Royal Baby. The Arsenal was London’s luxury, its pride, but as it stands, the club is the unfortunate prerogative of its fans, who can’t help but watch it limp on its way to a gradual demise.
Arsene Wenger is emerging more or less as a dictator following his recent comments, Stan Kroenke is busy earning boodle and Ivan Gazidis is probably resting over that “£200m warchest” that he claims to have up his sleeves – he is least bothered about everything else.
It’s the shemozzle of all shemozzles, the miasma of which is loved by you-know-who and virulently loathed by everyone else. The current state only encourages acute nostalgia, as memories of that David Dein-Arsene Wenger camaraderie find their way back to the mind. For those not aware of how influential they – and David Dein in particular – where, it was Dein who sealed Sol Campbell’s transfer from Tottenham Hotspur on a wage that few clubs could match at that time; it was the very David Dein who recommended Arsene Wenger for the job in the first place.
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Dein was no “his nibs” of the club, he was an invigorating presence at Arsenal, a driving force that was one of the reasons apart from Arsene Wenger behind the Gunners’ success, so it’s no shock that since his departure in 2007, Arsenal have failed to be a well-managed club on all fronts from transfer dealings to on-field success.
Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that Dein’s departure is a major factor behind Wenger’s downfall, as those who have replaced the Arsenal manager’s old friend haven’t necessarily been pro-Wenger in the same description as Dein was. Maybe we know why Arsene doesn’t want anyone else to work alongside him, after all.
Certainly, David Dein can’t be brought back, neither can be the Arsene Wenger of the past, but of course, a similar, maybe even better duo can be considered for the future: Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Tuchel and Michael Zorc, both being reported Arsenal targets.
Zorc and Tuchel’s success during their time together is no secret. One has been mastering the art of transfer dealings and the other has taken Dortmund from a stagnating side to a team that’s now on the rise and ready to challenge for major honours. If Arsenal are able to get the two on board, that solves a lot of the club’s long-standing problems that are currently in place partly because of Wenger himself and partly because of the others behind him.
Here’s a list of some of the players Michael Zorc has managed to get during his tenure, further reflecting how he could sort out the recruitment issues at The Emirates Stadium.
1. Alexander Isak
2. Ousmane Dembele
3. Emre Mor
4. Mikel Merino
5. Raphael Guerreiro
6. Julian Weigl
7. Christian Pulisic
8. Matthias Ginter
9. Ilkay Gundogan
10. Robert Lewandowski
11. Shinji Kagawa
12. Mats Hummels
13. Neven Subotic
14. Jacob Blaszczykowski
Thomas Tuchel has been equally as impressive in his area of concern. Unbeaten at home for almost two seasons now, he has taken over a stuttering BVB and overseen a complete transformation. Yes, they are inconsistent and have failed to perform in a lot of big games, but that’s part and parcel of the game, especially when you are still in the building process.
At Arsenal, Tuchel won’t have to work as much with the team for obvious reasons. He’d have the finances to get the targets he wants and with Zorc as his partner, the personnel to attract those targets. Add Tuchel’s coaching philosophies to that and you have a man who’s pretty much tailor-made for a club that wants to win trophies in style and with swagger.
The only problem in realising the Tuchel-Zorc dream, however, could be the much speculated friction between the two, which surprisingly hasn’t affected either on their professional fronts and that’s all that matters. Your call, Arsenal.