WENGER IN WALK TALK
ARSENE WENGER has admitted he could walk away from Arsenal halfway through his contract.
The Gunners boss told angry shareholders yesterday he will discuss his future with the club’s board at the end of the season.
The Frenchman said: “I must tell you, my hunger, my commitment is bigger than ever.
“But I accept, when you have been a long time at a club, everyone questions that.
“I question myself a lot to be better every day and I will sit down every year with my board to see where I go.
“But I would just like to assure you my hunger to be successful with this club is absolutely huge and no matter what happens I will always love this club forever and be an eternal fan.”
Wenger’s deal runs until the summer of 2019. And while he stuck to the well rehearsed line that he always honours his contracts, he also left plenty of room for manoeuvre.
Pressed on whether he was going to consider his options at the end of the ® season, Wenger said: “I said what I said and I stand by that.
“I want to feel that I do well, and see what the board thinks of my performance. After that, we decide where we go from there.
“But, of course, my desire has always been to respect my contracts.”
Arsenal are fifth, nine points off leaders Manchester City, and have failed to make it into the Champions League for the first time in Wenger’s 21-year reign.
But shareholders were also less than impressed when chief executive Ivan Gazidis claimed Arsenal were punching above their weight.
Gazidis, who was heckled at the Emirates, said: “It is very simple to compare team performance by a series of objective metrics, usually league position or points, against expenditure on transfers. No club has a perfect record every year under this scrutiny, but Arsenal has probably been, of the big clubs certainly, the most consistently overperforming team over time.”