Arsene, you are tearing apart your reputation

THERE is a wonderful picture of Arsene Wenger holding the FA Cup aloft (below) on a gloriously sunny day at Wembley, in front of some of the fans who made his life a misery last season.

If ever there was a good time to call it quits, May 27, 2017 was that day.

The greatest manager in Arsenal history riding off into the sunset with yet another trophy.

I hate to say I told you so – but I really did in May.

It was stale, crying out for change and yet far too many people got carried away amid the Cup Final euphoria.

People kidded themselves that it would be different this time – new signings, new staff, a new Wenger. Yet here we are, three months down the line, and it’s the same old Arsenal. Now it will just get uglier and more painful.

I think the Frenchman is a genius. We will arguably only truly appreciate him after he has left. He was a revolutionary for English football, not just in north London.

But there is little room for sentiment in the business.

Wenger got a new contract based on what he had done rather than what he can do.

Arsenal used to be champions, contenders. Now they are also-rans.

The squad is basically the same. The two big signings – Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac – did not even start at Liverpool.

The summer has been a disaster, the performance at Anfield a shambles.

Arsenal are in decline. People at the club know it, they’re afraid to admit it, and Wenger is in denial.

He is addicted to football and life at the Emirates, desperate for one last crack at glory.

The tragedy is that rather than restoring his reputation, he is destroying it.