Arsene Wenger is staying quiet on his Arsenal future, even to his backroom coaching staff. He has given no indecation to anyone at the club about whether or not he will sign a new deal by the summer. The Gunners’ coaching staff, including his no. 2 Steve Bould and coach Neil Banfield, all have contracts that mirror Wenger’s, so their futures are also unsure until he decides.
Arsenal’s players are also in the dark about whether the Frenchman is staying beyond the summer, when his contract expires. If he leaves it will signal the end of a 17 year reign at the club.
It has succeded in raising serious doubts at the club as to whether Wenger is about to walk, with Arsenal’s season on the edge of disaster. They are on a dreadful run of form, picking up just 2 points from their last 12 games, falling out of the title race and into serious danger of sacrificing their Champions League spot to Everton after losing to The Toffees 3-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Everton are now just a point behind them with a game in hand, and Wenger would see it as a major personal disaster if Arsenal failed to qualify for the first time in 16 years. They face Wigan Athletic in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday, and with their whole season arguebly riding on the game, a loss to the Championship side would surely leave fans in meltdown.
A loss would also mean a 9th consecutive season without a trophy.
Wenger retains the full faith of the club’s hierarchy, but there is concern about him because he has looked so down recently, and has admitted he is worried about his players being able to turn around their dip in form.
It has been noticed that Wenger, normally passionate and very animated on the touchline, has stayed seated during games and appeared as depressed as some have ever seen him.
Wenger is understood to have indicated to the club hierarchy months ago that he would stay, and he said publicly last month that he would commit to a new contract “unless he decided otherwise.”
Frenchman Wenger has been involved in planning for next season, discussions about redeveloping facilities at the club’s training ground and also the academy.
That all shows that Wenger is planning for the future and, while he has indicated that he is staying, the club must wait until they hear otherwise before looking for potential successors.
That could leave them with little time if the manager does go in May but the hope remains that he will stay.
By Ben Kelly
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