Arsene and Carlo: A tale of two coaches

Wenger has the luxury of building on the sterling season his team have enjoyed, while Ancelotti could get the boot

VICTORY at home to Sunderland tomorrow will guarantee Arsenal at least third place in the Premier League and spare them their usual headache at the start of the season.

It also represents progress, of sorts, for a club who have been mocked for “celebrating” finishing fourth in six of the past nine years.

While fourth place guarantees a Champions League playoff tie in August, an obstacle Arsenal have overcome with few scares in the past decade, third spot means direct entry to the group phase of Europe’s most prestigious club competi- tion. That means Wenger will have a less frenzied start to the next campaign and can strengthen his squad calmly over the summer.

Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United virtually condemned the hosts to fourth place, meaning Louis van Gaal faces a potentially anxious summer with a two-legged tie against tough opponents complicating his planning.

Wenger said the demands of beating Turkish club Besiktas over two, tight legs last August was a contributory factor in the dropped points that ultimately left them too far behind pacesetters Chelsea in a one-sided title race.

The way Arsenal are finishing the season suggests they should be a major threat to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea when the new campaign kicks off, although Wenger remains wary. “That’s difficult to say because you don’t know how strong the teams will be next year. Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool will all be on the market, so it’s difficult to know,” the Frenchman said.

“I believe that we’ve come out of the season and we feel we have made progress in the Premier League compared to last season because we were consistent against the smaller teams then but this season we are stronger against the big teams. That’s a big platform to do better.”

“Overall, of course, you want to be first but 17 teams would exchange position with you,” he added.

With an abundance of creativity at The Emirates in the form of Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, Wenger’s priority will probably be a player capable of anchoring the midfield when the Gunners are up against it – the kind of role Patrick Vieira used to excel in.

Identifying and buying one could make the difference next season between another top-four celebration and greater glory.

If there is one lesson Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has learned during his two seasons in Spain, it is that resting on your laurels is not an option at the world’s richest club by income.

After leading Real to a record-extending 10th European crown and a King’s Cup triumph last term, Real have failed to win any of the three major trophies in 2014/15 and speculation has already been swirling for weeks about the Italian’s future. Club director Emilio Butragueno pointedly refused to confirm Ancelotti will see out his contract, which runs for another season, after Real were knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus last week.

The former Real and Spain forward did so again following Barcelona’s victory at Atletico Madrid on Sunday, which secured a fifth La Liga title in seven years with a game to spare for Real’s arch rivals, who are also through to the finals of the Champions League and King’s Cup.

They are on course to repeat 2009’s historic treble, something neither Real or any other Spanish club have achieved.

“It is not something to be said now,” Butragueno told Spanish TV when asked about Ancelotti’s future. “And this is not the place either,” he added. “There is one match left and after that we’ll see.”

Ancelotti is a vastly experienced coach, having won the Champions League twice previously while in charge at AC Milan, and appears to be taking it all in his stride.

He had to watch Real’s 4-1 victory at Espanyol on Sunday from the stands due to a touchline ban and was captured on TV calmly smoking a cigarette during the game.

Among names to have been linked with his job are Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp, who is leaving the Bundesliga side at the end of the season. Mourinho, Rafa Benitez and Julen Lopetegui have also been mentioned, while it seems too early for former Real and France great Zinedine Zidane to step up from his current post as assistant coach of Real’s B team.

Ancelotti hinted he would continue next season.

“As always, I would like to win the most important competition, which is the Champions League, but also La Liga,” Ancelotti said.

“This year I was very close but we will try again next,” added the 55-year-old.