Frank Lee
In the press conference before the game against Manchester City, Arsene Wenger stated that his contract situation was “not sorted completely”. Now depending on your view, this could either mean that in fact it has been, but that the club do not wish to announce it in the current climate, or that the matter is not resolved. Wenger may be the bookies’ favourite to be in charge next season, but only the board and the manager actually seem to know the current reality.
Let’s just imagine that things are not yet resolved, and look at the potential reasons why it has not been sorted. There has been speculation of a boardroom split on this issue, and perhaps the only thing that will resolve such a divide is the club qualifying for next season’s Champions League (not taking part in the competition would mean that the argument for retaining the manager, i.e. his consistent top four finishes, is severely weakened) or the majority owner simply stating that Arsene is staying and any board member that doesn’t like it can take a running jump.
However, of more interest to me is the prospect that changes to the areas of the club where Arsene is king could be a sticking point. There is no doubt that the club policy as expressed by chairman Sir Chips Keswick at the 2014 shareholders AGM: “If Arsene does not have a plan we keep quiet. If Arsene has a plan we back it,” is not one that has served the club well compared to the structures in place at other clubs such as Bayern Munich and Chelsea. And there seems little doubt that in the post Arsene era, the club will need to up its game in this respect. So, with a view to that transition, might they believe that the smoothest form of evolution is to get the structure required in place over the next two seasons, before getting in an orthodox first team coach who focuses solely on getting results on the pitch, ignoring a lot of the other areas in which Arsene Wenger is trying to run the show.
Arsene has in the past stated that he would not work under a director of football so it would take something of an about turn for him to do this. Is he the type to swallow his pride and accept something he does not agree with? Isn’t a big part of the reason he has turned down alternative offers in the past the amount of control he has in so many areas of the club?
Ivan Gazidis has stated the club will use the disappointment of recent weeks as a catalyst for change. It has been suggested that the club will wish the manager to shake up his backroom staff as well as making changes to his scouting system (Gilles Grimandi looked at N’Golo Kante when he was at Caen and concluded he wasn’t better than Arsenal’s existing options. The following season he was a pivotal figure in the team that won the Premier League and Arsenal changed their mind about his ability).
Maybe, if the contract is indeed not sorted completely, might this be down to Wenger having the backing of the majority shareholder, but even so, needing to agree to compromises as the club need to prepare for life after his departure?
And will Arsene be willing to cede power? Dispense with figures that have been loyal to him and work with more challenging voices? This summer could be very interesting.
