Arsene Wenger could never replace a player of Patrick Viera’s calibre, says former Gunner, Gael Clichy.
Viera left for Juventus in 2005 after which Arsenal made just one Champions League final appearance and gradually descended down to top-four status.
Wenger’s attempts at rebuilding the title-winning squad failed over the next 14 years. Clichy saw this first hand during his 7 years at Arsenal. He said, “Patrick was someone who, when he was on the pitch in training, I felt pressure.
“Not because he was shouting at young players or because he was demanding too much, but just because of his charisma and the way he was. Either you say, ‘Wow this guy is the captain of the club, has won this, won that, if he is training like this I cannot do less. I will not be better than him because quality is quality but in terms of commitment and hard work, I have to match that.’
“I do feel that when Patrick left, we had great players coming in, but that space he had within the team, within the club, was perhaps too big to fill for any player.”
To add to Clichy’s thoughts, Wenger could never bring back the same level of quality ‘the Invincible’ squad had in the 2003/04 season. He was restricted by the club’s transfer budget and oversaw plenty of star players come in and leave during his reign.
