Reports: Wenger wants to stay

Despite many thinking the contrary, and Arsenal mired in the worst run of form in his tenure at the club, Arsene Wenger is determined to stay beyond the summer, according to reports in the Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mirror and Guardian. The reports, which all say nearly the same thing, indicating a club briefing, state that the club have not revoked the offer of a two-year contract, though continue to insist that any decision will be ‘mutual’.

Wenger had said on Saturday that he had “made up his mind” and that the club “did not know his decision”, which makes the timing of these reports confusing. Whatever the truth is, it seems to be a bit more than what is being reported publicly, though that Wenger would want to stay on is not completely from out of left field, as Philippe Auclair, who has known Wenger for more than twenty years, surmised:

What must be said, though, is that the club are making a mess of this even if they insist a decision would be ‘mutual’. As Arsenal continue to flounder in the league, Stan Kroenke and Ivan Gazdidis cannot let Arsene Wenger take all of the flak. They are, after all, decision makers here too, and they’re doing a poor job of installing any confidence that they know how to manage the best interests of the club, and saying that ‘fan pressure’ will play a part in any decision only makes things worse and more embarrassing for the club, as we saw in the skies over the Hawthorns on Saturday.