Next, is his gameplay and tactics. Wenger has been known to drive a hard bargain in the transfer window, often demanding lower than necessary prices that has many times lost him a player he so desperately desires. When it comes to betting the big numbers in poker it is likely that we may see him fold more times than we see him raise, but he has proved to be calculated nonetheless. In the transfer window prior to this year’s campaign, the Arsenal tactician bid £40,000,0001 in order to trigger a release clause in Luis Suarez’s Liverpool contract. The move ultimately didn’t go through, but the sheer audacity in bidding one pound in excess of a release clause shows Wenger knows how to make his opponents squirm.

What kind of poker player would Arsene Wenger be?

As we enter the penultimate few games of what has been a world-wind Premier League season, managers across the league are beginning to see which of their January signings have paid dividends. One of which who surely won’t be too pleased however, is Arsene Wenger. The Gunners boss may have just watched his side scalp a crucial North London derby victory, as Arsenal defeated Tottenham 1-0 on Sunday, but he likely won’t be pleased with the progress of January signing Kim Kallstrom.

Kallstrom is yet to feature in the red of Arsenal since moving on loan from Spartak Moscow until the end of the season, after it emerged the midfielder was suffering from a long standing back injury. The move seemed a rushed one from Wenger when it was initially announced and the injury revelation only added more fuel to the fire that Wenger is not an expert in the transfer window. He himself would testify to that theory, after he branded the transfer window as similar to a game of poker, before stating that he was never good at poker.

We at arsenalvision however, believe Mr Wenger to be simply pulling off a quite elegant bluff and in contrast, he would likely thrive under the pressure of texas hold’em poker. Firstly, let’s look at his consistency. Wenger has guided Arsenal to a top four finish in each of the last ten seasons, and looks on course to make it eleven out of eleven at the end of this campaign. Although some of his finishes have been in fourth and third places, in the game of poker those places still lead to some bumper pay-outs and it is likely had Arsene enjoyed that kind of consistency in the game of poker over the last decade, he would be a household name across most poker playing houses.

He has however, failed to bring a trophy to the Emirates for the last eight seasons and when it comes to poker, you do have to win a ‘big-one’ to receive the kind of acclaim of a poker legend. The Gunners are in the FA Cup semi-finals however, so it could be sooner rather than later that we finally see a trophy in the Arsenal cabinets.

Next, is his gameplay and tactics. Wenger has been known to drive a hard bargain in the transfer window, often demanding lower than necessary prices that has many times lost him a player he so desperately desires. When it comes to betting the big numbers in poker it is likely that we may see him fold more times than we see him raise, but he has proved to be calculated nonetheless. In the transfer window prior to this year’s campaign, the Arsenal tactician bid £40,000,0001 in order to trigger a release clause in Luis Suarez’s Liverpool contract. The move ultimately didn’t go through, but the sheer audacity in bidding one pound in excess of a release clause shows Wenger knows how to make his opponents squirm.

Finally, let’s take a look at his backing. For years Wenger had thrived off low-money business deals and a system of integrating youth into his playing system. That paid dividend for a while, before Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, Alex Song and many others that he had nurtured into possible world beaters decided to jump from the Arsenal ship. He has since, however, been afforded a war-chest like budget in a bid to spark a trophy revival upon the Emirates. On top of the £40million spent on Mesut Ozil last summer, Wenger will reportedly see the same backing in the post season, likely leading to another marquee signing. Although this seems unrelated to poker, a heavy financial backing can aid when attempting to blow your opposition out of the water, while the fact Arsenal can remain afloat despite affording these heavy losses, proves they would be well equipped to take a few risks in a game of high stakes poker.

Mr Wenger appears to be earning ticks across the board when considering the factors leading to a good poker player so who knows, me may see him arrive at the tables once he hangs up his managerial coat and bids goodbye to the Emirates. Or even in a special, Premier League managers poker table, but that’s just wishful thinking.