Returning to London after Champions League elimination at Barcelona’s hands, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger faces more uncomfortable questions than ever before about his stewardship of the club.
A season that was still full of hope at the turn of the year is now unraveling in all-too-familiar fashion, with Arsenal out of Europe, out of both cup competitions and trailing Premier League leaders Leicester City by 11 points, albeit with a game in hand.
They remain on course for a top-four finish, but Champions League qualification is losing its consolatory effect on the club’s fans, many of whom have come to see it as a sign of the culture of mid-level achievement that Wenger has allowed to take root at the Emirates Stadium.
“I think the natives have turned. There’s more people who want the boss out than want him in,” former Arsenal striker Ian Wright said on BT Sport after Arsenal’s 3-1 loss to Barcelona on Wednesday, which completed a 5-1 aggregate defeat. “I’m not sure if he still will be there in the summer, if they don’t win the league.”
With Chelsea floundering, Manchester City fatally inconsistent and both Liverpool and Manchester United in transition, this season had held the promise of a first league title for Arsenal since 2003-2004.
Instead, they have failed to grasp the nettle, with outsiders Leicester and — worse — archrivals Tottenham Hotspur surging past them to fight out the most improbable English title duel in recent memory.
“This was the perfect year for Arsenal to win the Premier League and they’ve missed it,” said Emmanuel Petit, another former Wenger protege.
FA Cup wins in 2014 and last year ended Arsenal’s nine-year silverware drought and indicated that the club was reacquiring the trophy-winning know-how that characterized the first eight years of Wenger’s tenure, which yielded three Premier League titles and four FA Cups.
The signings of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez also hinted at a new dawn, but Arsenal remain bedeviled by the same frailties: recurrent injuries, exacerbated by unaddressed weaknesses in key areas of the squad, tactical naivety and, crucially, a bewildering lack of backbone.
The achievements of Wenger’s 20-year tenure — notably the successful move to the Emirates and the establishment of Arsenal as a global brand — have earned the 66-year-old Frenchman iconic status at the club.
He is thought to retain the full support of US majority shareholder Stan Kroenke and there is no suggestion he is in danger of the sack.
However, fan discontent is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, and reports this week suggested that it could prompt Wenger to walk away from his post before his contract expires next year.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
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