Would Arsene Wenger as England manager work?

Somewhere deep inside Wembley Stadium, perhaps in one of those plush Club Wembley suites, there is most likely a flip board with a list of names scrawled on it. Like an episode of True Detective names are being crossed off as they go along, ruling out potential candidates. This is the search for the new England manager.

Some names have risen to the top of the list. Sam Allardyce has been mentioned, with the Sunderland boss reportedly set to be interviewed this week. Jurgen Klinsmann, the current US national team manager, is another linked with the vacancy. Perhaps the most compelling suggestion, however, is Arsene Wenger.

Initially, the Arsenal manager’s name was mentioned flippantly, much like Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho’s were. Nobody (including those at the FA, surely) truly believed that Wenger would be interested in taking on the most poisoned of poisoned chalices. Until the man himself refused to rule himself out of the running.

“Could I manage England? Why not?,” he mischievously shrugged earlier as Arsenal returned to pre-season training. “I would never rule that out, but I am happy and focused in club football. I have one more year to go with Arsenal and I have been with them for a long time. I have always respected all my contracts and will continue to do that. What will I do after that? Honestly, I don’t know.”

And so Wenger’s name now stands out on the flip board. He is the only elite coach in the frame and certainly the most experienced candidate linked with the England vacancy right now. If it’s a choice between someone like Allardyce and someone like Wenger, the FA only have one choice to make.

But would Wenger as the next England manager really work? After all, the Frenchman is maligned to such an extent that even his own fans have called for his Arsenal exit in recent seasons. Should Wenger leave the Emirates Stadium to take over the England team there will be those in red and white who celebrate his departure.

If England want a manager to instil a tougher, stronger mentality on the national team, Wenger probably isn’t their man. Arsenal perennially falter when it matters most, falling away when the tough gets going. Is that really what the FA want from their next manager? Will that really help England perform better at major tournaments?

The dismal display at this summer’s European Championships made it abundantly clear that England need an organiser. Under Roy Hodgson, defensive structure was scant. At international level organisation is key, but Hodgson failed to recognise this.

Wenger is not the antidote to that, though. His Arsenal team is frequently scrutinised for a lack of defensive organisation, with their deficiencies most brutally exposed in Europe. Arsenal, in may ways, are the England of club football. The national team needs something different, but Wenger would only bring more of the same.

Of course, there is some rationale to believe that Wenger would make a good England manager. There are questions over his approach to the transfer market, but there is no doubt that the Frenchman is among the best at eking the most out of what he has. It’s for this reason that Arsenal have remained a top four fixture in the Premier League over the past decade.

What’s more, Wenger has faith in English talent. It wasn’t always the case, with Arsenal not so long ago an outpost for France’s brightest and best youngsters. Wenger even became the first Premier League manager to field an entire team without a single English player back in 2005. Now, however, he has changed tact.

Arsenal is now seen as a finishing school for English talent. Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck, Kieran Gibbs, Calum Chambers and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all first team figures under Wenger, with the Frenchman something of a mentor to all. He could be the same kind of figure to England. He could bring through the next generation of English talent.

But he isn’t the man to bring them to fruition. Wenger’s pedigree and reputation is undoubtedly attractive as The FA looks for Hodgson’s successor, but that doesn’t necessarily make him the best candidate for the job. In fact, it might make him the worst.