Former Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has identified what he believes was Arsene Wenger's biggest weakness during his time at the Emirates.
Wenger joined Arsenal back in 1996 and transformed the Gunners into three-time title winners, with the most impressive moment coming during the 2003/04 campaign when the club went through the league season unbeaten.
But the last few campaigns of his tenure saw Arsenal fall well short of the standards Wenger had set during the early years of his managerial stint in the capital.
Wenger was accused of not spending enough money and recruiting more quality players towards the back end of his time with Arsenal.
Mertesacker feels that it was Wenger's trust in players who were under performing which proved to be his downfall, though the German does add that this belief in his players was a quality that was also admired in the dressing room.
Mertesacker, who is now Arsenal's academy manager, wrote in his autobiography 'Per Mertesacker: Big Friendly German': "When we lost one game, we often lost a few in a row. We could show off our class across six FA Cup games, but 38 League matches in 10 months were a different matter. We simply lacked the consistency all top teams need.
"You couldn’t win the league on eight defeats a year. Arsene Wenger was always the kind of manager whose belief in his team’s qualities was steady as a rock and who approached matters with never-ending patience.
"He didn’t lose his nerve during losing streaks, either. He stuck with his convictions and his players, no matter how strong the wind was blowing. It was his greatest strength.
"Wondering whether it was also his greatest weakness and whether he was too lenient with us is, in my opinion, a little too simplistic.
"If the fans had got their way, there would have been five new top signings every year. ‘Spend some f***ing money!’ they would chorus from the stands after defeats.
"But Wenger trusted the players he had. I never met another manager who believed more strongly in his squad’s ability."
