This has been a difficult season for Arsene Wenger. For the first time ever he has come in for a fair amount of criticism from his own supporters at Arsenal. Latest news from The Emirates suggests that he will be staying with the club but the criticism and rumours won’t go away.
Bad
It isn’t that Arsenal have had a particularly bad season. I can think of about eighty-nine other league clubs in England who would be absolutely thrilled with a fourth placed finish, Champions League qualification, Champions League semi-final and FA Cup semi-final.
The trouble is that for a club like Arsenal, one of the big four in England, another trophy less season after three similar campaigns is simply not good enough for some.
Rumours
Because of this scenario, rumours around Wenger leaving Arsenal are beginning to gather pace. The link with Real Madrid is becoming widely known, with one national newspaper saying he has been offered the job and has until today to make up his mind.
Certainly Wenger did nothing to dampen the speculation when he said earlier this week that managing Real would be “an interesting projectâ€Â.
He has since been quoted as saying that he will stay at Arsenal, but when he was strongly criticized by sections of Arsenal fans at an open shareholders meeting recently, he was asked about a possible move to Madrid and he replied that he wanted to, “remain discreet on that matterâ€Â.
One man who knows Arsene Wenger well is former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson. He has told the BBC that he is pretty sure that Wenger will stay at The Emirates.
“Knowing Arsene as I do, I don’t think he would ever walk out on a contract. When you sign a player like Arshavin for all that money and get a player like Cesc Fabregas to agree a seven year contract, the player and their representatives are surely going to say along the way, ‘where do you feature in this boss?’â€Â
Wenger still has two years of his contract to run and he has always maintained that he would never break his deal with the club. However, the fifty-nine year old has never before faced what he perceives to be a lack of support from the Arsenal fans.
Wonderful
There is no doubt that Arsene Wenger has done a wonderful job at Arsenal, taking them to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup wins in his thirteen years at the club. On top of that he has been Premier League runner up five times, taken them to a Champions League final and UEFA Cup final as well as overseeing the move to a fantastic new stadium He has transformed the club into one of the most successful in England and Europe.
The problem for Wenger now is that he may have become a victim of his own success. He is determined to stand by the principles that have served him so well over the years, but the relative lack of success this has brought recently may well prove to be the end of what was a beautiful relationship.
Outsider
As an outsider and a fan of Watford, twenty miles from Arsenal in distance, a million miles from Arsenal in every other way, I find it absolutely amazing that some Arsenal fans would like to see the back of a man who has done so much for them. Obviously, as an outsider I don’t have the same feelings and emotions that the fans do and therefore am not in a great position to comment.
What I am unclear about at the moment is what percentage of Arsenal fans actually want to see Wenger go. Is it a small but vocal minority or is it a movement that is gathering pace.
If you are an Arsenal fan, let me know how you feel about the current situation.
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