Kieran Gibbs, the former Arsenal left-back, believes Arsène Wenger deserves far greater credit than he received during his final years at the club — and the passage of time is proving him right.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Gibbs reflected on a period of sustained near-misses under the Frenchman, arguing that the squad was never far from genuine title contention.

"During my time there, I always felt that we were only two or three signings away from winning the league. But the club was in a cycle, after moving into the new stadium, where the board were only willing to spend so much and we were losing players in key moments."

Gibbs added that Wenger's record looks even more impressive when held against the struggles of other traditional giants in recent seasons.

"If you compare it to other big clubs who are struggling now, it wasn't as bad as it might have been perceived at the time. We never fell out of the Champions League places."

Context that vindicates Wenger

Wenger's last Premier League title came during the famous Invincibles season of 2003/04, yet Arsenal did not finish outside the top four until his final two campaigns — ending 5th in 2016/17 and 6th in 2017/18.

That consistency looks even more remarkable in light of what has happened to rival clubs since. Chelsea finished 12th in 2023 and 8th in 2026. Manchester United endured a wretched 15th-place finish in 2025. Tottenham, meanwhile, have ended up 17th in each of the past two seasons, flirting dangerously with relegation.

The expanded television revenues flowing to mid-table Premier League clubs have made top-four finishes harder to sustain across European football, but the scale of decline at those clubs still underlines just how difficult the task Wenger managed for so long actually was.

Arteta eventually restored Arsenal's standing

Following Wenger's exit in 2018, Arsenal's fortunes initially deteriorated. Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta each presided over back-to-back 8th-place Premier League finishes before Arteta gradually rebuilt the club into genuine title contenders again.

Gibbs was unequivocal in his admiration for his former manager.

"I think he did an incredible job and I'm very fortunate to have played for him. All of his stories and lessons have stuck with me."

For a generation of Arsenal supporters who grew frustrated watching rivals pull away during the post-Invincibles years, Gibbs's perspective offers a timely reminder of how much Wenger achieved — and how little the board around him was willing to invest to finish the job.