Wenger always buckles

LONDON. - It’s a situation that’s oh so familiar for Arsene Wenger but, far from that giving him the steady experience to weather the pressure, that past has arguably only increased that pressure.

That is because the stark reality is that any time that the Arsenal manager has faced a situation like Manchester City’s interest in Alexis Sanchez he has always buckled. He has always caved. It happened with Patrick Vieira, it happened with Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie and it is precisely why some close to the situation have more breezily been talking as if the same will happen again; that Wenger will eventually buckle again.

In each of those eventual sales, Wenger was as publicly resolute about refusing to let the player leave as he is now, insisting they just wouldn’t go.

That may have of course been a necessary negotiation stance for Arsenal at a time when things were financially tight after the stadium move but it also reflects the greater frustration for Wenger right now.

Given how the club has grown since the sale of Van Persie in 2012 and financially moved on a level, these scenarios were supposed to be a thing of the past.

Instead, the Sanchez case only sharpens the still-bubbling debate over Wenger should now be part of the past; whether he should have taken the decision to leave after winning the FA Cup.

The 67-year-old is a hugely proud man who is determined to prove such calls wrong, and obviously believes he can re-establish Arsenal as a title-challenging force again, but selling Sanchez would greatly diminish that - let alone the vibe around the Emirates.

It is why this decision takes on an even deeper dimension for Wenger than all the others, why it feels even more significant, more important - why whether he caves could be key to how his last contract goes.