May 30 – Will he stay or will he go? All will shortly be revealed. The future of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, by far the longest serving manager in English top-flight football, is expected to be announced this week after the Frenchman held a meeting with Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke and chief executive Ivan Gazidis on Monday.
The outcome is unclear but the decision has reportedly already been made and was being relayed to directors at a board meeting today.
Wenger’s preference has always been to stay, on either a one or two-year contract extension, but he has faced unprecedented criticism during a season in which the Gunners finished outside the Premier League’s top four – and the Champions league spots – for the first time in his 21-year reign.
However, Arsenal won nine of their last 10 league games and then beat Chelsea in last Saturday’s FA Cup final to make Wenger the most successful manager in the competition’s history.
“It would be a bit ridiculous that the work of 20 years should depend on one game, that the future of the club should depend on one game,” Wenger said afterwards. “Now it’s down to the board to decide whether I am the right man to take this club further. It’s not about popularity but about competence.”
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