On Tuesday the 23rd September, Big Sam became Fat Sam. That’s not a dig at his ever-expanding waist-line (rather hypocritical as I down a packet of McCoys and cover my keyboard in steak-stained crisp grease), rather a reference to the furtive, underhanded mob boss from Bugsy Malone.

Indeed, rather than any distinct crime – excepting a very dodgy conversation about third-party ownership – Allardyce’s inadvertent re-imaging of his own caricature, a bung-infested, money-grabbing, loud mouth, instigated his abrupt demise.

The FA are now charged with the task of finding a successor to the shortest-reigning England manager in the history of the position. Gareth Southgate’s been granted a four-game audition, starting with Malta and ending against Spain, but the underwhelm surrounding the former Boro boss has created a vast list of alternatives to take the role long-term, varied in experience, style and popular appeal.

One candidate gaining traction is Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, the last great emperor of the beautiful game. Le Prof’s already received backing from several influential voices, including London Evening Standard’s James Olley and BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty.

It’s hard to argue with their logic; compared to Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce, Wenger’s of a much higher breed. Silverware may have been scarce during the second act of his Arsenal reign, but the Frenchman remains the mastermind behind ‘The Invincibles’, a three-time Premier League winner and a six-time FA Cup winner. Furthermore, rather than England simply flirting with the idea of adopting an attacking, technical brand of football closer associated with countries on the continent, Wenger champions such a philosophy on a weekly basis at Arsenal.

Yet, the blotches on Wenger’s CV are as significant as the achievements. The debate over implications of the move to the new stadium rages on, but is the Arsenal boss as hungry to succeed as he was in 2004, when the Gunners won their last Premier League title in the most dominant of fashions? It’s hard to be fully convinced – and if there’s one thing the Three Lions don’t need, it’s a manager prepared to settle for second best.

Perhaps the new challenges the England job provides would give Wenger a new lease of life. But as Football FanCast discussed earlier this week, Wenger’s record when it comes to young English players verges upon abysmal. Of the 131 players to make their Arsenal debuts under Wenger aged 22 or younger, only 47 were eligible to play for England by the end of their careers. Likewise, of those 131, only 10 have been capped by the Three Lions. Most damningly of all, only three have claimed 30 caps or more.

If you’re a stato-phobe, consider the qualitative evidence; from an English cabal of Kieran Gibbs, Theo Walcott, Carl Jenkinson, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere, only one is currently in the Arsenal starting XI, two are on loan at other Premier League clubs and just one made Sam Allardyce’s England squad last month. Of course, we’re talking one selection in many over the last two decades, but for a manager who has spent 21 years at the top of the domestic game, that record is incredibly disappointing.

Prior history of developing English talent isn’t an obligatory requisite for the England job. The FA have employed foreign managers before and Wenger’s overall record when it comes to young players is largely impressive, especially during the first ten years of his rule in north London. If he can turn Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas into world beaters, there’s no reason he can’t with some of England’s emerging talents – Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling particularly spring to mind.

But one essential for the England post is tactical intelligence – the ability to outwit the rival dugout over the course of 90 or 120 minutes. Once again, Wenger falls short in this regard. Whilst he’s built fantastic team after fantastic team, at least in the purist, aesthetic and entertaining sense, their successes have come through development of ability rather than innovative organisation from the sidelines.

There are two types of Football Manager players; one who watches every second of every virtual game and changes tactics every few minutes based on the game’s flow, and one who watches key highlights on full speed, patiently building an unrivalled team over the course of several transfer windows and seasons. Wenger is the latter.

Take a look at his form in the Champions League. From 21 attempts, Wenger’s Gunners have surpassed the quarter-finals just twice, reached the final only once and are still waiting to win club football’s top accolade. No doubt, it’s an incredibly tough tournament and the odds are always stacked in favour of the big three – Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. But working with less able players and smaller transfer budgets than Wenger, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, under Diego Simeone and Jurgen Klopp respectively, have reached finals over the last few years. Arsenal, meanwhile, have exited at the Round of 16 for six straight seasons.

The aforementioned ‘big three’ boast greater squads than Arsenal’s, but it’s Wenger’s inability to outwit sides with a higher level of talent that’s most worrying. England need to find a way of overcoming such gulfs in quality, especially if they’re to make a mark at the 2018 World Cup, but Wenger’s habitual 4-2-3-1 and blind faith in beautiful football won’t be enough to better Germany or Spain in two summers’ time.

There is an overriding argument of Wenger being more of a long-term manager. His greatest gift to Arsenal will be the legacy he leaves behind; a well-run club still competitive at the top of the game with a modern stadium, a distinct style of football, a global brand and a strong link between the first-team and the academy sides.

That latter achievement will be of a particular importance with the FA, who are desperate to create a clear path between the Junior Lions and the senior squad. Wenger could be their Jurgen Klinsmann, who instigated the revolution which lead Germany to winning the World Cup two years ago.

Yet, too many generations of English talent have been wasted with the next in mind. Rather than attempting to reform every aspect of the English game after every disappointing tournament, the Three Lions simply need to win silverware – even if it requires the same approach Portugal took at Euro 2016.

That will lift the 50-year cloud hanging over our national team far sooner and more effectively than any relaying of the foundations Wenger could offer.