Everything looked pretty hopeless the day before George Graham arrived f. And Arsene inherited a team in steep decline without any direction. Both turned things round almost immediately.
The problem is that standards at the top are so much higher now. If the next Arsene came along with new and exciting tactics and found a pair of diamonds like Vieira and Petit, would that be enough to challenge? No, I fear it would not.
It might make the failure more watchable, mind.