NOWHERE TO HIDE
SS1 TOMORROW, KO 8PM
MIDDLESBROUGH v ARSENAL
TREATMENT ROOM Middlesbrough:
Arsenal:
SUSPENDED: ODDS TO WIN Middlesbrough: Draw: Arsenal:
The Arsenal boss admits that speculation about his future – and the future of his key players – will not be accepted as an excuse for another poor performance at Middlesbrough tomorrow.
Relegation-threatened Boro are fighting for their Premier League lives and take on an Arsenal team shell-shocked from their 3-0 humiliation at Crystal Palace, six days ago.
This could be another dose of Monday-night misery for the Gunners.
At Selhurst Park, Arsenal fans turned their frustration towards the players, chanting, “You’re not fit to wear the shirt”. Spanish defender Hector Bellerin was a particular target.
As yet, there is no formal clarification about whether Wenger will be at Arsenal next season as manager or whether star striker Alexis Sanchez and Germany World Cup winner Mesut Ozil will extend their contracts at the Emirates.
Yet, Wenger refuses to cite the political turmoil engulfing his club as a reason for their decline.
Asked if that was the reason for the shoddy performances, Wenger said: “I hope not because when I speak about a mental test, it is to perform no matter what the circumstances are around you.
“Is that an influence? I would say I hope not.”
He added: “What is for sure is that, in the last three months, there has been no consistency – especially away from home.
“At home, we have not been disastrous in the quality of performance, but, away from home, we have not performed and it is difficult to analyse why, because, in the past, we have been very strong.
“What is for sure is the results are not what we expect them to be.”
Consistency and stability have been crucial to Wenger during his two decades at the club. Those qualities have been absent in the last two months as a top-four finish in the Premier League has become a distant dream.
That will mean Wenger will fail to bring Champions League football to Arsenal for the first time.
For months, senior club officials have insisted that the decision over Wenger’s future will not affect negotiations with players. But Ozil sidestepped questions about his own future last week and hinted that his decision will hinge on Wenger’s.
Ozil said: “We will talk in the summer.” In other words, he is waiting for his manager to make a declaration of intent.
Wenger said: “Ozil can explain what he means by that. He may be coming to the end of his contract, but you perform until the last day of your contract. That is how I see it.”
Wenger is hopeful that Petr Cech and Laurent Koscielny will be fit after missing Monday’s match through injury.