Lack of ruthlessness makes Wenger unlikely to win Champions League

COMMENT: The Gunners boss has an unenviable record of managing the most games without ever lifting the trophy as he prepares for the last-16 clash with Monaco

Jose Mourinho can rarely resist a dig at Arsene Wenger and he hit his mark with calculated precision over the weekend as he claimed the Arsenal manager has a ‘dream job’ because he is afforded so much more patience than his rivals.

As Wenger prepares for the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 tie against his former club Monaco on Wednesday, even he 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, 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 the top four and 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.

                                                                       *Games since the modern format was established in 2003-04

Since the last 16 stage of the Champions League was introduced in 2003-04, the 65-year-old has overseen an incredible 109 matches, almost twice the amount of any other manager to have never lifted the trophy.

Roberto Mancini has managed 61 games in Europe’s elite competition and lost at least two jobs - Inter and Manchester City - because of his failures, while the likes of Manuel Pellegrini (54) and Jurgen Klopp (35) are still some way behind Wenger.

It is the sort of ammunition used by Mourinho when he describes Wenger as a "specialist in failure" or, as he did on Sunday, suggests Arsenal should be challenging for titles.

"At this moment [Wenger] has a dream job that we would all love to have,” Mourinho told Goals on Sunday on Sky Sports . “He has the stability and has the time to buy and sell and wait for success... and wait, and wait... I think he has the dream job.

"What he did to get so many titles in a certain period gives him the credibility that he deserves. Obviously he is a fantastic manager but he's in a fantastic position to be successful. When I look at the players, I really think they have to win."

And that is the nub of it. Arsenal should be doing so much better.

Ignore the £150 million-plus in cash reserves to strengthen the squad, Arsenal’s squad is brimming with attacking quality in the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott.

Yet the same old problems emerge - and they are exposed most ruthlessly by the best teams, whether domestically or in Europe.

If Arsenal are to have any chance of winning the Champions League this season, they need Alexis in inspired form and to follow the blueprint of their 2-0 victory at Manchester City in January.

For once, Wenger went into a big match with a sensible gameplan.

It has been painful to watch Arsenal hopelessly attempt to go toe-to-toe with sides that are technically and physically superior to them over the past few years.

But against City they were solid, organised and used their quality with speedy counter-attacks.

There are, though, too many chinks in the armour that Wenger hasn’t addressed. The spine of the squad is weak and despite their bulging ranks Arsenal still need a top class goalkeeper, centre-back, defensive midfielder and striker.

You can’t win titles with Olivier Giroud leading the line, Mikel Arteta protecting the back four and Wojciech Szczesny throwing the ball into his own net.

Wenger is admirably loyal to his players but that is just the problem. He lacks the ruthless touch of a real winner like Mourinho, who has sent the likes of Juan Mata, David Luiz and Andre Schurrle out of Chelsea in the process of building a title-challenging side.

Unlike Wenger, Mourinho is also a manager who usually gets it right with his tactical set-up for big matches.

Wenger has a win record of 50.5 per cent in the Champions League since 2003-04 but his record is dragged right down by the fact he has won just 35.1% of knockout matches in that time.

Mourinho’s overall win record is comparable at 55.4% but the Portuguese has won 50% of his knockout matches - and has two Champions League winners medals to show for it.

Likewise, other Champions League-winning managers like Rafael Benitez (53.3%) and Sir Alex Ferguson (55.7%) have similar overall records to Wenger but have continued their form when it matters, winning at least half of their knockout matches.

This year’s last 16 tie against Monaco offers the opportunity for Wenger to marginally improve his record - but don’t count on it continuing when Arsenal come up against the big guns.