Cup win has no bearing on future

If it does transpire that Arsenal’s 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Chelsea was manager Arsene Wenger’s final game in charge it will have been a memorable way to sign off.

The 67-year-old Frenchman’s brow has been constantly furrowed this season with intense speculation about his future overshadowing a campaign that saw the Gunners fail to finish in the top four for the first time since he took charge in 1996.

He was all smiles though as he joined the ecstatic celebrations on the Wembley pitch where Aaron Ramsey’s late header ensured Arsenal have now won three of the last four FA Cups after an interminable 10-year trophy drought.

Wenger was ebullient about his side whose vibrant performance to outplay the Premier League champions he described as one of the proudest moments of his long career.

Yet back in the bowels of the stadium, where questions quickly turned to his future, he kept his cards close to his chest, refusing to offer any real clues as to whether the FA Cup victory represented a glorious farewell or the springboard for future success under his command.

“This doesn’t influence anything,” record seven-times FA Cup winner Wenger told reporters. “It would be a bit ridiculous that 20 years depends on one game and that the future of the club depends on one game.

“Overall I just want to do well for this club and apart from that it’s down to the board members to decide whether I’m the right man to take this club further.

“It’s not about popularity, it’s about competence. You can’t do 35 years as a football manager if you think you are not the right man to do the job.”