On knife edge, Wenger braced for tough season

LONDON:Arsene Wenger brokered a fragile truce with Arsenal’s dissenting fans by winning the FA Cup, but has little margin for error ahead of Friday’s Premier League opener against Leicester City.

Last season was by far the most difficult of Wenger’s 21-year tenure as manager, with Arsenal’s on-pitch travails exposing him to furious protests from sections of the club’s support.

Having ended months of speculation by signing a new two-year contract, he is looking forward and says that if the team puts on a united front, the fans will fall into line behind them.

“A lot (of the trouble) was created by my own situation. Maybe I made a mistake,” Wenger said after Arsenal beat Chelsea on penalties in last weekend’s Community Shield. “Overall I believe that it’s down to us. The trend has always to come from the team.”

Undermining Wenger’s quest for harmony is the uncertainty surrounding several first-team players. Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere are among the players whose contracts expire at the end of the season.

Sanchez in particular has been the subject of intense speculation about his future amid reported interest from the big-spending duo of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

The Chile forward missed preseason after being granted extra time off following the Confederations Cup and has been ruled out of Friday’s game due to an abdominal strain.

That Wenger is not going into the new campaign with the fans still at his throat owes much to Arsenal’s strong finish to last season.

After Wenger belatedly adopted a 3-4-2-1 formation — a tactical trend sparked by champions Chelsea — Arsenal won seven of their last eight league games and stunned Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup final.