London: Those supporters who commissioned planes to fly high above the Hawthorns with conflicting messages about Arsene Wenger’s future do not have long to wait.
For the first time, Wenger revealed that he has already decided whether he wants to remain Arsenal manager beyond the end of the current season and has promised that this decision will be communicated “very soon”. A two-year contract extension has long been drawn up and, while there have been clear indications recently that Wenger is ready to fight on into a 22nd season, the competing suspicion is that a recent nightmare sequence has convinced him that enough is enough.
It remains only those very few closest Wenger confidantes who know what he has decided but, from a point of indecision in January, it would be remarkable if this recent sequence of six defeats in nine games had convinced him to stay. In losing 3-1 to West Bromwich Albion and taking their goals-conceded tally to 21 in seven Premier or Champions League games, there were further alarming signs that certain key Arsenal players are either shattered mentally or no longer playing for the manager.
The on-field demeanour of his team must be far more concerning just now than the sight of further off-field protests but, asked whether clarity on his future would end the recent disquiet, Wenger replied: “Don’t worry, I know what I will do in my future. You will soon know.” Asked how soon, Wenger replied: “Very soon.”
Wenger seemed almost to regret his candour. Asked if the club knew what he would do, he said: “No”. Wenger was then asked whether his decision would be communicated during the fortnight before Arsenal’s next match against Manchester City. “No,” he said.
It all leaves enormous lingering uncertainty but what must also be factored into this guessing game are the remarks of Wenger’s assistant, Boro Primorac. He was quoted on Friday as saying that his friend “isn’t considering leaving” and that “Arsenal’s strength in the past 20 years has been Wenger”.
There might be truth in that statement but amid another occasion that bordered on humiliation the wider question is whether he has now become irretrievably divisive. Not only did the West Brom fans chant mercilessly at Wenger about the prospect of being sacked but the Frenchman also suffered the indignity of having Arsenal’s fans shout, “You don’t know what you’re doing” in response to the second-half substitution of Alexis Sanchez. This was despite the Chile striker being injured and playing through what Wenger said was a “bad” ankle injury.
Oxlade-Chamberlain later apologised for the whole team and acknowledged that the performance was “not acceptable” but, looking down from the Sky Sports studio, a more damning verdict was soon flowing.
Thierry Henry, the club’s record goalscorer, described the display as “shambolic” and questioned the mentality of the players. “It was all about attitude,” he said. “It’s not acceptable for Arsenal Football Club. They were nowhere near the desire, commitment and attitude needed to win the game.”
Jamie Redknapp was even more blunt. “That’s the kind of performance that gets managers the sack,” he said. “The players have let him down and let the club down. It was diabolical.”
Lost amid the inquest was another wonderfully organised West Brom performance and, as their gleeful fans wished Wenger to stay on, Arsenal’s supporters were left to wonder if an incomparable era really is now destined to end amid such rancour.
— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2017
