Do or die for Wenger today at the Emirates
ARSENAL face Manchester City today in a match that could have a huge significance for the club’s future as the result could determine the fate of club manager Arsène Wenger.
The Gunners manager is out of contract at the end of the season and under intense pressure to step down after another season of underachievement. However, the 67-year-old has been tipped to sign a new two-year deal.
Despite saying he has made up his mind over his future, the Frenchman has yet to publicly announce his decision. That could be because the City match will be the deciding factor, reports the Daily Star.
“A good result at the Emirates would boost Arsenal’s top-four hopes and is likely to prompt Wenger to announce he will sign a new contract,” it says.
“But another defeat is likely to pave the way for the Frenchman to announce he will leave at the end of the season.”
That scenario was reinforced this week, when Wenger made it clear he wanted to see how “professional” his players would be in today’s match.
The Gunners have lost four of their past five league matches and there are rumours that some stars, notably Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, want to leave. There have also been claims that uncer- tainty over Wenger’s future has destabilised the club.
Against that backdrop, the manager may well be watching to see if he still has the trust of his players. But he said: “Being professional is to perform on the football pitch and not to find escape excuses where I think there are none.”
He dropped another hint when he said his future was “a subject that’s not completely sorted”, despite his previous assertions.
With defeat possibly leaving Arsenal in seventh place, it is clear the match “is vital on many levels”, says The Guardian, which adds that his message ahead of the match was clear: “The players had to show their steel.”
When this season’s Premier League fixture list was released, Arsenal against City in April looked like a potential title decider. In reality, neither team goes into today’s match with a realistic hope of catching leaders Chelsea, but instead are focusing on keeping their own faltering seasons on track.
For either side, failure to qualify for the 2017/18 Champions League would be unacceptable, but for third-placed City and the sixth-placed Gunners, this is a genuine possibility.
Next month the pair meet in the FA Cup semifinal, but right now today’s clash is far more significant.
Victory for Arsenal would end a Premier League win drought of nearly two months, and be their first over one of the “Big Six” since they beat Chelsea 3-0 in September, a result which saw the west London side’s coach Antonio Conte change tactics and kickstart a charge towards the title.
Pep Guardiola’s team are frustratingly inconsistent, sweeping aside inferior opposition before being kicked out by a quality AS Monaco in the Champions League. Despite a decent 1-1 draw with Liverpool before the international break, City were not at their free-flowing best.
Striker Sergio Aguero may be biding his time with a possible summer move on the cards while winger Raheem Sterling continues to exasperate with his fitful displays. — theweek.co.uk and AFP