Arsene Wenger tells staff he will not step aside from Arsenal this summer

Facing unprecedented criticism and calls for him to stand down as manager of Arsenal, Arsene Wenger has apparently told his staff that he will not step aside this summer and intends to see out the remainder of his contract that ends in June 2019. This comes, as The Times reports, Wenger’s lost the support of many Board members and executives and is counting on a continued warm relationship with majority shareholder Stan Kroenke - the man who overruled his CEO, Ivan Gazidis, last summer and extended his manager’s contract another two years.

Arsenal is, by most measurables and casual observations, going through the darkest stretch of Wenger’s 22-year reign as boss and, as rival clubs continue to move further ahead of them in all operational aspects, it appears the decision to remove the manager rests solely with a Board that has shown a complete inability to do what’s right and just for the club’s immediate and long-term future.

Unless Stan Kroenke suddenly has a change of heart - which may very well happen, depending on what his son and eventual Board member Josh Kroenke reports back to him following his two month-plus stay in London to get a sense of how the club is operating - it appears Wenger will continue on as manager. Because, as Wenger knows from years of indecision from his superiors, he has no incentive to take matters into his own hands.