WENGER JETS AWAY TO WORK OUT HIS FUTURE
ARSENAL BOSS CONSIDERS WHETHER FANS WILL ACCEPT HIM STAYING FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS
ARSENE WENGER has left the country as he deliberates whether to stay on as Arsenal manager.
The vast majority of the Gunners’ first-team squad are on international duty and it is understood Wenger has taken the opportunity for a short break to consider his future.
The 67-year-old wants to stay at Emirates Stadium and agreeing terms on a new contract is a mere formality but Wenger is torn as to whether the environment exists for him to continue.
Wenger is believed to have kept his counsel despite fervent speculation over his next move with not even his closest confidantes certain as to what he will do.
Clarity is expected in the next fortnight with Wenger due to hold a press conference on Thursday or Friday next week ahead of Manchester City’s visit to north London.
It is as yet unclear whether the Frenchman will make his intentions public then but despite the club openly claiming it will be a “mutual decision”, Wenger is under no pressure to accelerate his thinking.
Arsenal have lost six of their past nine games and fallen six points behind Liverpool in fourth place. Theo Walcott told Standard Sport this month that the “infighting must stop” within the squad but rumours persist that several players are unsettled. Mesut Ozil missed Saturday’s defeat at West Brom with what was described as a hamstring problem yet he was then called into Germany’s squad for tomorrow’s friendly against England.
Should Ozil play, it would fuel talk the 28-year-old was absent for more suspicious reasons. He has been unavailable for the past five Arsenal matches, the first four due to illness, yet he has trained on occasions during that period. Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi both contracted the same bug, and recovered more quickly.
Talks have reached an impasse over contract extensions for Ozil and Alexis Sanchez and the pair could head a summer clear-out if Wenger decides to remain. Although Wenger has publicly stated he would rather run both contracts down for their final season next year and lose Sanchez and Ozil for nothing in 2018, the Gunners are increasingly accepting they may need to cash in.
The futures of British trio Kieran Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere — all of whom are yet to be offered new deals despite less having less than 18 months left, as Standard Sport first reported in January — are uncertain while Lucas Perez and David Ospina are expected to seek moves away from the club after growing frustrated at a lack of playing time.
Wenger has discussed possible transfer targets with senior players and the club have already expressed an interest in Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Wenger is also keen on signing a left-back and a striker.
Those plans are on hold, however, as Wenger considers whether he can carry on beyond May.