Legendary Arsenal striker believes Wenger will leave

In a surprising turn of events, Ian Wright believes that Arsene Wenger will leave Arsenal at the end of the season after having dinner with him last night.

The remarks come at the end of a tumultuous week for Arsenal, with reports growing that Wenger both has a two-year contract on offer from the club, but that the club are also seeking out other managers should he decide to leave. And while “man believes other man may leave job after having dinner with him” isn’t the most stonewall source, there’s no reason to believe that Ian Wright would say such a thing out of bad faith; indeed, out of the cabal of former Arsenal players who say dumb things on TV, Wright is usually the most positive about the club. And in a way, Wright is right: Wenger is nearing the end, just as we all, as each day goes by, are one more day closer to the end.

Again, this emphasizes how important it is that Arsenal clear up their managerial future. Like Manchester United post-Ferguson, Wenger is the entirety of the club’s identity. While he might, in press conferences at least, not say that it is the most important thing to Arsenal, it really is. With no first-team structure outside of the manager, there can be no forward planning for next season; tactics, transfers, player’s contracts and their future all depend to an extent on what Arsenal do with their managerial situation, and it is an imperative that, short of appointing a Director of Football, Arsenal and Wenger make clear what is going to happen.