End in sight for fourth, and perhaps, final age of Frenchman’s reign

Another overhaul looks inevitable but an entire era is in bigger danger, writes Jeremy Wilson

The curtain seems to be coming down on the fourth – and perhaps final – age of Arsène Wenger and, for all the noise that surrounds his suitability for the job, it is surely the quiet, largely unspoken, verdict of star players that has become most worrying.

A simple question: who was the last Arsenal superstar to extend their contract when in their prime? There was Thierry Henry in 2006 and Robin van Persie in 2009 but, in the eight years that have followed, the verdict from contract negotiations with players such as Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez has been unwavering. None has seemed convinced they can realise their footballing ambitions with Arsenal.

Financial reality offers part of the explanation, but Arsenal are hardly paupers, and Wenger has acknowledged that negotiations are no longer just about the bottom line. “It is more about whether the club can meet their needs on the football front,” he said.

The more worrying conclusion, then, is how Sánchez and Özil might also have lost faith in Arsenal’s ability to win the biggest trophies. Van Persie and Fabregas had far too much affection for Wenger to say so explicitly but that was both the subliminal message and the reality of their subsequent experiences. Sánchez has also left little room to doubt his wider frustrations, while friends of Özil now believe that he will also leave.

Petr Cech is another unhappy

with his role after being dropped from the cups while Alex OxladeChamberlain has come to the conclusion that his development would be best served elsewhere. It all points to an overhaul this summer that would signal the end of what we can identify as Wenger’s fourth distinct team.

Change is an inevitable part of any club – and the way Wenger has managed that process has been one of the successes of his tenure – but it is the sense now of history repeating itself that should be of greatest concern. The third Wenger team ended following the departures of Van Persie, Fabregas and Samir Nasri and Arsenal cannot now ignore how another crop of star players have become similarly unwilling to commit.

The contrast with Wenger’s early years is stark. His first team, comprising George Graham’s old defence and the likes of Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka, evolved around the turn of the century into the ‘Invincibles’ of Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Henry and Robert Pires. Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp essentially straddled both eras.

They challenged for the biggest trophies, and when the squad evolved it was generally on Wenger’s terms. He was then the driving force behind backing a younger, less physically imposing squad, in which Fabregas was the iconic player. It did briefly feel like this team might deliver, but the shattering League Cup final defeat of 2011 against Birmingham City proved the turning point. They were still in contention in the Premier League – and ahead against Barcelona after one leg of their Champions League last-16 tie – before the Birmingham game.

The season then ended with only three wins in 14 matches, and that was the prelude to a summer exodus. The view then of the board – and broadly also the fans – was sympathetic to Wenger. Arsenal have been trying something ambitious in building around so many young players, and had been operating at a transfer surplus.

Wenger was afforded the chance to rebuild and was given the resources to construct the current squad. Few major players have left and, as well as Cech, he has spent at least £30 million each on Özil, Sánchez, Shkodran Mustafi and Granit Xhaka. There have been two FA Cup wins but, in the Champions League and Premier League, there have been no more than glimpses of a sustained challenge. The two matches this season against Bayern have had the feel of Birmingham all over again, not in terms of the quality of the opponent, but rather the crushing nature of defeat.

The confidence of the entire club has been rocked and, with Arsenal facing a battle to finish in the top four, the core of a squad which promised so much looks likely to disband. Wenger looked similarly crushed during much of 2011 and it was a tribute to his resilience that he kept going to build what has fleetingly looked like a title-winning team again.

Yet the inability to organise or inspire this group against the best has become damning and, unless the season ends with a turnaround, a whole new era rather than a fifth age of Wenger now feels more likely.

Who was the last Arsenal superstar to extend their contract while still in their prime?