As Wenger prepares for the first leg of
Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 tie against
his former club Monaco on Wednesday, even the
Frenchman himself might be inclined to agree
with Mourinho’s assessment.
Wenger may have ended Arsenal’s nine-year
trophy drought with last season’s FA Cup
triumph, but the Gunners look as far ever from
winning one of the top prizes in club football.
Any hopes of a challenge for the Premier League
this season are long gone with the Gunners 12
points behind leaders Chelsea, while success in
the Champions League would simply be to reach
the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
Because we all know how it ends with Arsenal in
Europe’s elite competition.
As soon as they come up against a leading side -
whether it’s Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real
Madrid or Chelsea - their elimination is all but
guaranteed.
Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League
for 17 seasons in a row but in recent years they
have looked ever less likely to win the
tournament. Football should be about glory, but
too often for the north London club have been
happy with nothing more than finishing in the top
four and maintaining the status quo.
It wasn’t always this way. Wenger guided
Arsenal to the final in 2006 when they were
beaten by Barcelona, and missed a huge chance
in 2004 as the Invincibles were knocked out by
Chelsea in the year Mourinho’s Porto were
crowned Kings of Europe.
And when the Frenchman looks back on his
career, he will regret those missed opportunities
to put a star above the Arsenal crest.
Wenger has been in charge of Arsenal for more
than 180 Champions League matches but boasts
the unenviable record of being the manager who
has played the most games without ever winning
the competition.