Arsenal fans will only really miss Arsene Wenger when he’s gone.
No matter how many times Piers Morgan or celebrity fans try and turn against the Frenchman, there’s no doubting his long-lasting impact on the north London club.
Not to mind all the cash he’s brought in for the owners and guaranteed Champions League football for 18 straight seasons, but the long-serving boss is by far the club’s most successful ever man to sit in the dugout.
The Frenchman is often reminded that he is now the longest serving Premier League manager since Alex Ferguson’s retirement, but it appears his record at Arsenal could be coming to a close shortly.
Wenger was at Arsenal’s AGM yesterday and bore the brunt of much annoyance from Arsenal shareholders who hit out at the club’s poor summer in the transfer market as well as their disappointing record in Europe.
According to the Mirror, Wenger addressed the meeting and speculation about his future by suggesting he could call quits on his role at the end of his current contract, which runs out in 2017,
“I am resolute to commit absolutely until the last day of my contract to bring back big success to this club, and leave as well one day in a position where it can do even better when I leave.”
“That is for me very important that I leave the club in the shape that the guy who comes after me can do better.”
Wenger also had to defend his spending record with Petr Cech the off-season’s only significant purchase.
“I accept you have to be over-critical when the performances are not good, but look at number of games Arsenal played in Champions League before I arrived and look after, and come back to me.”
“We are not scared to spend the money – I know I have that reputation. We have shown in the last three years if the player has the quality, we spend the money.”
The comments could be as cryptic as Wenger wants them to be, but it certainly seems that if the Frenchman is beginning to look at the endgame of his time in London.
