Bard
The mood music coming out of the Club is inconclusive. There is the ‘board are considering their options at the end of season’ line and the other is that Stan 'has no intention of getting rid of Wenger at the end of the season’. The idea that the board have anything to do with the direction of Arsenal football club is laughable despite the various backroom changes, so I think we can dismiss that line of thinking. The second is much more plausible. Wenger and Stan decide what happens at the club.
I have written before that I see no upside in Stan getting rid of Wenger before his contract ends despite the fact that the club are locked in a titanic battle with Burnley for 6th spot. Wenger has played the loyalty card extremely well and to some extent it has boxed Stan into a corner. Does Stan want more grief as a disloyal owner, ungrateful for all Wenger has done? I don’t think so. Wenger has managed to make a persuasive argument that he has sacrificed his life and professional career for the club. He has of course omitted to mention how handsomely he has been rewarded and how low the expectations have become under his tenure.
This is the backdrop to the Europa League semi against Atletico Madrid. The result could be critical in deciding Wenger’s future one way or another. If Arsenal win it - and they are perfectly capable of landing a result - then Wenger is here for next season and a new contract is potentially in the offing. The rubbish of the last two seasons can easily be airbrushed out amid the euphoria of beating Atletico. If they lose it or more importantly lose it in spectacular fashion then the knives will be out and it might just persuade Wenger to call it a day.
It would appear from the various forums that Arsenal fans are divided over how they want this game to pan out. Many who want Wenger out also want the club to triumph over Atletico. This is the ‘I want it both ways’ argument. I have made my views crystal clear. I believe that we need to get spanked by Atletico to have any chance of moving the club forward under another manager. I am well aware that this is a controversial position and not one I have come to easily. In the early years I loved some of the football Wenger served up. My reasoning is this: at present Wenger is Arsenal, you cannot separate the two.
To want us to win it is an endorsement of Wenger’s regime and a vote for the status quo, there is no way round that. However we have been on the slide for a decade or more. This season in particular has been a shocker by any yardstick. Our decline is no glitch, it’s systemic. We are falling further and further behind the top clubs. If Wenger is allowed another year/contract we risk slipping even further behind, it makes the rebuilding job even harder.
