Arsenal legend claims key decision is behind club’s struggles

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Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes the departure of former co-owner and vice-chairman David Dein back in 2007 has contributed to the club’s downfall in recent years.

The Gunners have not won the Premier League title since 2004 and fans have become frustrated with the way their club has been managed behind the scenes in recent years.

Certainly at the moment, the north London giants are miles off the pace in terms of a genuine title challenge.

In 2018/19 they finished 28 points behind champions Manchester City, and did not secure Champions League football for the second year in a row.

High class players have left the club for relatively small sums

In the eyes of Wright, Dein leaving was something of a catalyst for the club’s struggles.

He said on talkSPORT: “That was the beginning of the end. That is a problem. That is a massive problem.

“He’s the kind of person, in respects of football and knowledge and vision and love for the club, who you can’t afford to lose.”

Wright also attached some blame to former chief executive Ivan Gazidis and ex-head of recruitment Sven Mislintat for leaving the club ‘in a little bit of a mess’.

TBR’s view

Wright probably has a point.

Since Dein’s departure Arsenal haven’t really come close to winning the Premier League.

The transfers of the likes Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie, Alexis Sanchez, Serge Gnabry and Olivier Giroud were all arguably poor deals.

Dein was responsible for attracting major talent during his time at the club such as Wright, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Marc Overmars and Robert Pires.

With Dein having long been out of the picture, Arsenal have simply been overtaken and left behind.