They are two of the most celebrated managers in the world. But both Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klopp have suffered major setbacks in their bid to win silverware this season.
At the start of the month Arsenal were only one point behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League. After suffering from an almost perennial loss of form this month, the club are fourth and should now be more concerned with ensuring they qualify for next season’s Champions League, than realising their ambition to regain the title.
A team simply cannot aspire to win the league while holding a record in matches against their rivals that is as poor as Arsenal possess. They have collected only four points out of a possible 15 after playing five of the six matches against the teams above them in the table. Overall, the Gunners have come out of these psychologically damaging losses with a goal difference of -11.
It could be worse though – they could find themselves in a similar situation to Borussia Dortmund. Currently a distant second in the Bundesliga, manager Jurgen Klopp must now assess how to combat the seemingly unstoppable Bayern Munich juggernaut. After losing wonderkid Mario Goetze last season to their greatest rivals, Dortmund will almost certainly lose their star striker, Robert Lewendowski, to them as well. Resigned to losing the Pole on a free transfer, Klopp will now face a decision of whether he is able to replicate last season’s heroics, or if he has taken the club as far as he can. If he does begin the rebuilding process, it is imperative he holds onto the club’s other in demand players such as IIkay Gundogan, Mats Hummels and Marco Reus.
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