It’s crunch time for the boss

THIS is the most defining season of Arsene Wenger’s managerial career. He took Arsenal to the brink of the Premier League title last season and the only way fans will consider 2016-17 a success is if they go all the way this term. The supporters will feel it’s far too long since they last won the title, but look at the number of wealthy benefactors pumping money into English clubs now. Arsenal have Stan Kroenke but he isn’t the same kind of owner as Sheik Mansour at Manchester City or Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich. He is a global investor in sporting teams who lets Wenger get on with managing the club while his shares increase in value. Wenger is never going to put the club’s finances in jeopardy, and Kroenke knows this. The American will be delighted with what he has achieved while spending much less than his rivals — besides Leicester — and if Arsenal, City and Chelsea were all to finish in the top four but miss out on the title, Wenger would be considered the most successful of the three managers. I would be very surprised if they hadn’t already offered him a new deal. But this is where a conflict between the club and the fans arises — about how to measure success. The fans aren’t so concerned about how healthy he makes the spreadsheets look. The fans hold on to a dream of winning the Premier League title, and there has to be a feeling that this can become reality. I think the most frustrating thing for them is that there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel — the Promised Land was in sight. The financial shackles imposed by the move to the Emirates Stadium had been lifted and big-money moves for Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez looked like a sign of things to come. But now the Financial Fair Play regulations have been ‘eased’ and Arsenal can no longer sit at the same table as City and Chelsea when it comes to bidding for players. The light is now going out. Wenger seems to think that Arsenal fans won’t be happy until he spends huge money on a player, but I don’t think this is the case. What they want is change — they need to see something is being done to move the club forward, and the signings of Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez should appease them for now. But it’s not just the fans who need convincing. Sanchez and Ozil have yet to sign new contracts and they may start to consider their options if more big-name signings — as well as that elusive title win — don’t arrive soon.