That 10-2 drubbing has fired up Wenger to stay longer...
ARSENE WENGER is edging closer to staying at Arsenal according to sources at the club, despite the humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich.
Those with knowledge of the dressing room say the mood since has been one of determination to turn the season around and finish well. If anything, it has made many at the club, including Wenger, more defiant and determined to prove doubters wrong.
It would, of course, require a top-four finish or an FA Cup victory to justify staying.
If the club were to slump in the Premier League, Wenger could yet change his mind and accept that it is a time for a change.
At present, transfer recruitment plans for next season are intensifying, with Wenger directing them as though he were staying.
The significant difference from previous years when Wenger’s contract was running down, however, is that intermediaries close to the club have begun to sound out candidates to replace him. Men such as Max Allegri at Juventus, Newcastle’s Rafa Benitez and Borussia Dortmund’s Thomas Tuchel. And though Wenger looks more likely to stay now than go, the insecurity is putting Arsenal’s planning at risk, which is why a decision will be required soon.
All agents of players targeted for next season want to know who will be the manager next season — and no one is in a clear position to tell them.
The club are planning to make major signings in the summer, with the strong possibility that a replacement for Alexis Sanchez will be needed.
The club can keep Sanchez for another year, but the diminishing work-rate he is showing in games (illustrated in the panel) has suggested to some that he is losing heart. The club and player are in contract negotiations, with Sanchez understood to be expecting an overall figure including image rights which is close to £300,000 a week in order to extend his deal.
Arsenal will come close to meeting his financial demands, but the bigger issue is whether Sanchez wants to commit or move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Last summer’s targets, such as Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann and Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe, are now coveted by clubs with bigger budgets. Manchester City and Real Madrid are both interested in Mbappe and Manchester United will be able to pay more for Griezmann.
Borussia Dortmund’s striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a player Wenger has admired for some time but the days of Arsenal being first in queue when it comes to major signings are long gone. If Real Madrid, whose transfer ban for the summer has been over-turned, want Aubameyang, he will go there. If United and City decide he is not a target, then Arsenal might have a chance, but it is hard to justify moving from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal as a step up, other than in financial terms.
The club appear more confident of coming to an agreement with Mesut Ozil. The German has recently bought a new house in London and, though final terms have yet to be agreed on a deal which would be worth more than £250,000 a week, talks are expected to resolve the impasse.
Alex OxladeChamberlain will be offered a new deal, despite reports suggesting he might wish to leave. But Kieran Gibbs, whose career has plateaued, is expected to leave, with Monaco’s Benjamin Mendy likely to be the player they would want to attract as his replacement.