In sport, as in many walks of life, strengths can eventually become weaknesses. Arsene Wenger’s decline at Arsenal was in part because he remained determined to allow players autonomy. “I think they know what to do,” he famously remarked as he had lunch in the White Hart Lane boardroom before a North London Derby when somebody wondered if he shouldn’t be delivering last-minute instructions. This approach was more effective when Thierry Henry was a forward rather than Marouane Chamakh or when Tony Adams was the authority figure at the back, rather than Igor Stepanovs. But Wenger persisted. A manager who…

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