WENGER WILL HOLD STEADY
Gunners boss has no plans to resign
ARSENE WENGER insists he will not walk away from Arsenal as it emerged he attended a board meeting on Monday to discuss the club’s future.
The manager’s position will be reviewed by Arsenal’s top brass at the end of the season, with the possibility of Wenger leaving becoming a very real option.
Sportsmail revealed this week that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is one of the contenders to replace him.
Wenger came out fighting yesterday, confirming his intention to see out the remainder of his current deal, which expires at the end of next season.
However, Wenger is well aware of the growing doubts from within the football club over whether he is the right man to lead Arsenal forward.
And Sportsmail understands the Frenchman was present at a full board meeting just 24 hours after watching his side’s feeble Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City at Wembley as uncertainty over his job intensifies.
The impact of qualifying for the Champions League on the club’s finances is understood to have been on the agenda.
Arsenal’s half-year financial results, which were released yesterday, show that the drop from Champions League to Europa League football has created a £23.4million fall in football revenue in the six months to the end of November 2017.
Fears over further losses will intensify with Arsenal set for a second successive season out of Europe’s elite club competition.
Whether or not Arsenal qualify for next season’s Champions League will have a key bearing on whether Wenger sees out the remaining 12 months of his contract.
But, speaking yesterday, the Arsenal manager underlined his determination to stay until at least the end of next season — but has acknowledged the decision is ultimately out of his hands.
‘I have been here for 21 years and I always respected my contract, so I am quite amazed that you ask me the question,’ he said.
‘I turned the whole world down to respect my contracts. In life, I look at what people do, not at what they say. What I did in my life was that (not break my contract), so I am quite amazed that you asked me the question.
‘If you want me not to be here, that’s a different problem. You ask me my commitment, and my attitude is dictated by what I did in my life, not by what I say.’
Intriguingly, however, Wenger added: ‘You try to master what you can master. What is above you, you cannot decide.
‘I am exactly like you. I am an employee and I give my best for my club that I love.’
John Hartson insists it is no surprise to see ‘sought after’ boss Rodgers linked with succeeding the Arsenal manager.
Rodgers is on a four-man shortlist for the post alongside Joachim Low, Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta and Monaco head coach Leonardo Jardim.
And Hartson is adamant Rodgers deserves to be among the names in the frame, having added an Invincible domestic treble in Scotland and a place in the Europa League last-32 to his achievement of guiding Liverpool to a secondplaced finish south of the border.
‘It doesn’t surprise me. Brendan is a top manager and he will get linked with jobs,’ said Hartson.
‘I know Scottish football gets criticised but he’s on the cusp of winning his second Treble with Celtic. They made progress in Europe by getting through to the Europa League by beating Anderlecht in the Champions League.
‘Brendan Rodgers is a very sought after manager. Celtic want to keep their manager who is absolutely revered in Scotland for doing such a great job.’
Everyone expected Wenger to come out swinging yesterday. And he did — to an extent. But he was more evasive than confrontational as he faced the media.
‘My position is my position. Honestly, that’s the last worry I have at the moment,’ replied Wenger when asked whether his job will be reviewed.
When pressed on the issue, Wenger grew tetchy.
‘I just told you, I just gave you the answer of what my way of thinking is. It’s the next game.
‘I don’t ask you if your position is reviewed at the end of the season. It’s for other people to judge me, it isn’t for me to evaluate that.’
Pushed for one last time, Wenger snapped: ‘I just told you the answer. If you need clarity, I can repeat exactly the same answer.
‘Does it stop you to sleep that my position is uncertain or would not be certain, or is certain? No.
‘What is interesting in football is the performances of football, the game you will see on Thursday night. That is what is important. All the rest may make headlines, but it is not really interesting.’