Arsene Wenger has dismissed suggestions that he might walk away from Arsenal this summer, saying that he always respects his contracts.
The Frenchman’s deal runs until June 2017, and it’s clear he’s not thinking about anything other than being the man in charge next season.
Asked if this season might make him consider his position, he said, “I do not want to come back on that, I respect always my contract”, and when pressed on it, replied, “I have just answered your question.”
Ahead of tomorrow night’s clash with West Brom, he says the team will have to cope with a tetchy crowd and less support than normal in terms of numbers as it seems many are staying away.
“You do not want to play in a negative environment, if we do we can still perform,” he said.
“We are responsible for the performance of the team and it is true that at the moment it is not a highlight but we have to take a distance with that.
“We want to finish as high as we can. It is not a consolation, it is about getting the best out of the team and focusing and giving everything in every single game. We need to show we have the mental level to compete until the end.
“Our job is to give absolutely the maximum until the last day of the season. You expect that from ambitious, professional football players.”
Just please don’t extend it.
Unless you win the Premiership next season.
I honestly find it so difficult to see Arsene struggling in the manner in which he is doing at the moment. I have always backed him over the last 12 years. I backed him with project youth. I even still backed him when we sold off all of our best young prospects (i.e. Hleb, Nasri, Fabregas, Song). I was believed that lie, that selling off those players was a necessary step for us to take so we could use all of that revenue to pay off the stadium debt faster, in order to get out of the financial handcuffs that… Read more »
overall, a selfish excuse to stay. Not the classy thing to do here at all.
@’remember the invincible’ considering your name, a bit of a twatish comment
How was that twattish?
To be fair if I was on 7mil a year I wouldn’t walk away either
Walking away is the easy way out. Showing fortitude and finishing a job you’ve been asked to do is classy. Popularity and class are not by any means synonymous.
Dropping the mic and walking off leaving a club so structured around him without a proper transition is what would lack class.
I’m guessing ‘I always see out my contracts’ is not only the truth, but also Arsene code for ‘fuck off, not talking to you lot about it right now’.
Wow, every other time on this forum, if someone made any anti wenger or anti arsenal or even had an opinion against they were heavily vote down, today i see equal number of vote ups and downs.
We might win next season, but im not sure i can forget or forgive that we didn’t win this season, this is just really really poor. These last few matches are going to be so boring.
I’ve actually found it to vary with the fortune of the team. Poor, the critical comments come out, which makes sense. Team does well, other way around. If the team is doing well and someone can’t help but be sour and still criticizing, then yeah, of course there will be difference of opinion.
Of course any article with a picture of Wenger or his name in the title is going to be split every time and trumps any prevailing wind.
But I too get the feeling this season’s disappointment is shifting more opinions.
Or just sign a fucking top class forward finally, add his contract to yours, and watch as we win the league easily. Then I don’t think anyone would begrudge the guy a new contract.
We should have already won the league by now and we would have with better forward options. We have created far and away more good chances than any other club – way, way more. Frighteningly more. We should have about 25 goals more than we do and have the league wrapped up.
This
We need two world-class forwards for when one gets injured. And one more top-class midfield man like Kante or Wanaymamamam …
if/when Arsenal walk the league next year, will Wenger stay for three more years? It would be hard to kick him out if the EPL finally comes back. I suppose he should worry about West Brom first …
he has to pay for his divorce somehow I guess. Sad year for the boss.
I want Wenger to stay, but he really needs to just spend and spend big to enjoy a crowning achievement or two before they build a statue of him outside the Emirates.
COYG!
I know it sounds harsh after everything he’s done but the only way we are getting rid of him early is to not attend games like WBA tomorrow and voice our displeasure & hound him out. I know it’s harsh but we can’t have another season of him, he won’t change or adapt so we are left with no option butto do this, it’s worrying how detached from reality he really is. No-one wants it to end like this but he has to die on his sword at the end of the season. Who is going to sign for the… Read more »
It doesn’t sound harsh Gloken, it is harsh!
How about we don’t “hound Arsene out”? We are better than that!
And it’s “fall” on your sword…
I would be open to other suggestions than hound him out but that’s what we are reduced to. The non action of the board means we have to resort to more extreme methods.
F*ck fans like you. There is only one wenger. Wenger will leave when he want
I admire your loyalty to Arsene, I really do but you can’t really believe a statement like that can you?
His complete lack of accountability coupled with fans like yourself who blindly follow him has allowed the current malaise we find ourselves in.
No its not blind loyalty, it’s respect for a man who has taken this club to a higher lvl, he could have left when Madrid came calling, but no, he stayed, and took on the biggest project 7n world football, keeping us in the champions league, paying off a stadium, keeping us competitive to a point. I agree this season has been a disaster, complete fuck up….. But to get to the point, to complain that we are a bigger club, we deserve better….is down to Wenger. So suck it up, give the man the final year of his contract,… Read more »
“He could’ve left to go to Madrid”. What a joke of a comment that is.
1. Madrid wouldn’t touch him
2. He wouldn’t touch Madrid. Why would Wenger go to a club where he’s not in charge of the whole show and somewhere where success is DEMANDED.
Wenger is much more into a cozy little 8 mill a year number where 4th is just fine
Taken us to a higher level!? Leicester and sp*rs currently have better teams than we do. Also, if Mourinho hadn’t lost the dressing room at Chelsea, and Man City weren’t just waiting for their new manager to arrive, and Man U had got their act together, things could be a lot worse.
I don’t see how wanting a change of manager is disrespecting his prior achievements. Surely you can do both!?
At jammyman if me Aunty had bollox she would be me uncle.
And If I had a great right foot, I would be an Arsenal legend, too many ifs and buts.
I’ve not heard from anyone who will take over, not saying there’s not anyone out there, (Koeman is my choice).
Not blindly. The way I see it: – The first 10 years of his reign were glories and memorable – From 2005 to 2013 were a very testing times which he managed to keep us in touching distance with the elites against all odds. I believe these years were his masterpiece despite lack of trophies. – From 2013 to 2015 were OK seasons with back to back fa cup victories. – 2016 – A complete disaster and wenger’s lowest point in his tenure. He took unnecessary gamble by not reinforcing the squad on the summer. – 2016-2017 when putting all… Read more »
Ok, you’ve made a great point. But your argument then hinges on what we do this summer. He can’t use the excuse (again) that the “right” players aren’t available when Leciester are running away with it at the moment.
“he could have left when Madrid came calling” – time will tell. Out of interest, how did you foresee his escapades at Madrid going if he indeed went? A decade of unrivalled silverware and CL after CL every season and the greatest Madrid manager ever? Or, disappointment followed by a sacking and somehow ending up at Newcastle? (Heck, it could’ve been the former, and he’d still get fired). People make it sound as if there was no benefit to him staying at Arsenal. As if any top manager wouldn’t be tempted by near-omnipotent control over all football affairs, £8mil per… Read more »
I also want him to leave now, but if he hadn’t kept us in the Champions League all this time, he would have been fired. Maybe the board would have tolerated one year out of it, but no more than that.
Don’t compare Wenger to Benitez, silly comment, I’m not talking about now, but I dare say psg would have a sniff if he quit.
you must remember, when we won the double and then went on a 49 unbeaten run….at that time, he was the most wanted manager on the planet, he stayed and broke up the invincibles to fund a move to a new stadium.
We are a better club now than what we were before he arrived.
Glocken? Your name rings a bell (only Özil or other German speakers will get that one)
Thanks for the reference correction.
It’s ‘Glocken’ by the way, not ‘Gloken’ cheers! 😉
Apologies about my typo, but “Glocken” is an internet name rather than an important word within a well know phrase.
It’s important to get historical phrases right in my opinion Glack!
😉
Nicely played Paul ?
Not everyone though so…:-(
*t
Why is it harsh? What is so special about Wenger that he’s different from every other manager in football history in that he has a right to stay in his job for as as long he chooses? Just because he sees himself as superior to the common run of humanity doesn’t mean that his employers have moral obligation to share his opinion. ”I always respect my contract,’ he announces, as though he’s doing Arsenal and football a favour in staying despite the fact that someone has had the temerity to question his performance. The arrogance is breathtaking. We owe Wenger… Read more »
£8m a year? I’d honour my contract too.
Some people think it’s just about money and some people believe in honouring their contracts.
I guess we know which category you fall into.
In fairness, £8 million…That’s too much for a man not doing his job to the required standard.
I miss Highbury more every day.
Depends on what the required standard is and who is setting it.
In my opinion the required standard is finishing the league in a position that is reflective of your resources. Which would mean the table should read something like: City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, and then Leicester way down the table. The fact that small teams with limited resources will finish above us means Wenger is not up to standard. And also on the other hand the teams with bigger resources finishing below us are also failures, which is precisely why their managers will be replaced next season. The fact that Wenger for two seasons running has been given a… Read more »
But you are lorry driver. Nobody cares if you do honour your contract
No lorry = no beer. I care!
Maybe he’ll surprise all of us by getting the triple as a goodbye gift
If he won us the triple, why would there be a goodbye??
Why is everyone calling it the triple?
We won the dual in 1971, 1998 and 2002.
Double old chap……it’s called the double
Let’s not forget, there have been many times when Arsene could have managed any club in the world, he could have had his pick of any club, and I have no doubt that he rebuffed many many approaches, so whatever we think, let’s just give the guy a bit of fucking credit, he’s earned it.
Exactly we have shit ourselves more than once over the years when reports have linked him with other clubs.
He is a proud man and it’s not the money. He has enough of that.
He wants to put things right after a dreadful season. Not sure he can though so would prefer him to resign. He won’t go anywhere though.
Best manager we ever had. Nothing will take that away from him.
But no one is bigger than the club, and he’s no longer capable of leading the club to glory like he did for so many years. There’s no shame in that, he’s an absolute legend. But it’s time to go.
And get sacked within 12-24 months without any immediate success and certainly not 10 years to win a league. Which he knows, hence he has stayed put. Don’t believe the hype.
He couldn’t a top level club and all the expectation that goes with it. When he is questioned he resorts to blaming everyone else, refusing to take responsibility and scaremongering with these kinds of stories.
This is a man who gets paid a fortune doing what he loves without any interference.
It a,wakes me how much people will pull the wool over their own eyes to support a narrative.
This forum needs an edit button… ?
Amazes not awakes.
I think Wenger may have sold his soul to the devil to try and achieve the Premiership title this season.
I heard that at the beginning of the season the devil said to a desperate Wenger…
“Arsene if I can make sure you finish above Chelshit, Man Shitty, Liverpoo and Manure at the end of the season, will you give me your soul?
Gutted for you Arsene! 🙂
He would never sell his soul. He would give it a pay rise and bring it on in the 75th minute to keep it happy.
Comment:So..what about hiring new tacticians and player motivators for your support Arsene!
It’s a good news, but I am still said. Am I the only one?
Problem is he’s has too many underpar seasons to put things right. It won’t change. We need something new
I don’t think the criticism that we have too many under par seasons is correct. For many of the seasons between 06-12 we were exactly par. Third or fourth biggest budget and that is where we finished. Last couple of season it was par again plus a trophy. This season finishing 3rd or 4th will be viewed harshly in the light of Leicester and Spurs performing overpar and overachieving. I am perplexed as anyone that as as squad of players we cannot make that final breakthrough and I accept that this year was as good a chance as we’ve had… Read more »
Are you two golfers?
Under par is good for a golfer.
The only one that says “said” instead of “sad”?
If so yes.
🙂
All I can say is he better be spending money in the summer. If we had 200 mil available last summer then in reality that figure should have doubled.
At this point I hope he does not spend any money, the writing is on the wall and Wenger would never admit to consider walking away. He won’t say anything until an official announcement is prepared. That said I have no idea what he might do, it probably depends a bit on where we finish. If we end 5th, I think he will walk.
I’ve always supported Wenger,never been on the “Wenger out” brigade, but I think that now it’s time for new manager…
People have a right to voice their displeasure, but there is another way to do it rather than hurling abuse to him as if he was getting us relegated and brought the club to its knees.
He deserves better than that. Fuckheads
*at him…
Red arrows for correcting a grammar mistake ?.
But we don’t have the mental level to compete until the end. If we did, we would have competed until the end.
Hey “mental level” sign da ting!
He is an utter perfect professional. He is Japanese. He will leave at end of next year. Sharp.
He’s not Japanese Simon, stop saying that!
Wenger its time to say goodbye
How does one say that in Japanese?
🙂
“Sayonara”. But he’s French, not Japanese. Try “au revoir”.
He comes from the Alsace so technically he’s an Alsatian….
Woof!
What if we pay 8 million and 1 pound to activate his release clause?
We have to win tomorrow as all the results tonight suck – manure, bin dippers and spanners all winning!!! Groan… just wish this season would hurry up and finish as it just keeps throwing more poop!!!
But isn’t this somewhat contradictory to the other thing that he says – if I think I’m not good enough, I’ll step down?
Nope. He still thinks he’s more than good enough, and I can’t see any circumstance other than relegation when he would.
Repeat of this season next season.. Amen..
I think the time has come to put all of the negative comments to one side, as it’s creating a toxic atmosphere at the club. For the record I think that a change of manager would probably be the best way forward, but from now on I’m going to try and put my anger on the back burner and concentrate on getting behind the team. It’s got to the point now where I feel that we’re actually making things worse for ourselves. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I think we’ve gotta grit our teeth and go down… Read more »
Ok then. Get your shit together, Arsene, make that next last year count!
Shame we don’t have an ambitious manager
I think too many Arsenal fans are dancing to the tune of our enemies. You support your club through thick & thin.
Mussy, the Arsenal fans I know do support the club through thick and thin.
However, there are muppets that support an underperforming employee of the club through thick and thin.
wenger is not our club,the fact that many ‘supporters’ fail to realise this is why we are in the mess we are in
Wenger’s words do not match the performance of his team on the pitch.He is just buying time to earn his unjustifiable salary. Who will break such a valuable contract when one knows that he/she will not be held accountable for the performances of the team. Has been , must leave room for young and fresh blood.
Wenger should leave when he wants……Who could replace him? Arsenal fans we need to be careful what we wish for
My grandmother.
Des, in answer to your question – Simeone, please.
There is a sense of complacency that permeates this club. It starts with the owner, to the Board, to the manager, and the players. Not buying anyone in the summer to push players on the squad was not smart at all and borderline negligent. I have NEVER thought that Wenger doesn’t work hard. He does. The problem I have is the output not being up to par for a club of this standing. For a man who has known micromanaging habits concerning everything around the club, the players seem almost directionless at times when it comes to breaking down a… Read more »
I think this really hits the nail on the head. The problem was switching from the whole club being set up for and accepting 4th as great success to challenging for the title. During the stadium changover years a malaise of mediocrity set over the club that cannot easily be lifted. It starts at the top, as Kronke probably sees the mild success and cash rolling in as a fine position to be in, and this filters through all aspects of the business. Sorry, I meant club. I suspect Wenger has also lost his edge in this respect, too many… Read more »
Arsenal players are top top quality. They don’t play like they are being coached. No motivation no desire no fear to lose.they play like they are just having a kick about. I don’t think they are even scared of wenger when they make silly mistakes. I’m sorry but it’s time for wenger to go. Of not yesterday then today tomorrow is too late
I think Wenger needs a strong and intelligent assistant who has the balls to tell him when things are not going well. I don’t think Steve bould is the right man for this. He also needs a David Dein like figure to help him sort his transfers
I’m not gonna pretend all is well, and I ain’t gonna sit here and canvass for support or respect for Wenger as well. But What is clear is that, behind every failure there’s a reason. When I analized our season as a whole, I reckon we started faltering as soon as the Cog/Cazorla axis where halted due to Injury. Cog came back not been his real self… And Carzola ofcourse still crocked untill now. And ofcourse Alexis’s form was also halted due to injury. Agreed, Wenger could/should have strengthened more than he did in January. But yet, his only January… Read more »
I agree with Glocken and others. It’s time to not turn up to games. The empty seats – 10,000 paid seats unused at the last game – are the most eloquent statement we can make to a Board and senior management team who don’t give a fuck what we think.
Arsene – our second greatest manager ever – is running on empty and has lost the fans and the dressing room. Gazidis – our worst CEO ever – will do nothing.
I am tired of hearing fans saying “be careful what you wish for” citing Man Utd as the example. That squad was clearly outperforming itself, with many average squad players. However, all pundits agree that this squad should be doing better than it is, and that with the addition of 2 or 3 top quality players, we could be a class team. Yet we have to hear the ritual tripe from Wenger about how our squad is young and that our summer transfer activity will be “limited”. In years gone by, I would have accepted this as a bluff, but… Read more »
This is an important point. Our situation is not at all like Manchester United’s. They had just won the league and Ferguson left on a high.
“Wenger: I always see out my contracts” I remember when hearing this sounded amazing, as the likes of Real Madrid lurked in the background. Now not so much. Sad how far his stock has tumbled but that hasn’t happened without reason. His strategy hasn’t evolved much over the years and now it looks decidedly dated. Everyone, from fans to opponents to pundits, knows exactly what to expect from us and pretty much every team has worked out how they can take points away from our meetings, which they often do. We are entirely predictable. The only way results are going… Read more »
Unai Emery’s contract expires in 2017 too. I’m sure people have seen me harp about this guy, but I think we should be looking at talented young managers and allow them to continue much of what Wenger built even if it has to mean we are out of the CL for a season or two
Won two Europa leagues on the spot and consecutive 5th place finishes in a league with a huge disparity in wages and revenue, and the top 3 basically a given year after year.
http://outsideoftheboot.com/2015/07/23/tactical-philosophy-unai-emery/
With my all my respect to him, and I do want him to go out with a bang, but at times you feel he is acting like a dictator. Completely dismissing fans.
Not this particular press conference per se but in general. He could at least act like he cares.
You shouldn’t be surprised about his dismissive views of us fans, when he believes that he ‘built the club’.
Not surprised, but there are times where the way he talks feels like he has all the authority in the world and does not have to answer to anyone.
Managers of other club start to get scared when there is fan unrest due to them. He keeps going like it’s nobody’s business.
i’d see out my contract too if i was making 8M a year with no pressure from above to do shit. it shouldn’t be up to him. i’m sorry folks, but arsenal fc is not “our” club. it was taken from us years ago by an american billionaire and a once great manager that turned his back on the fans for his own self interest.
man united making easy work of crystal palace. arsene is turning this club into a joke.
A couple of points to make I feel…today’s blog made me smile through nostalgia. I started going to games in the George Graham era. I was 12 years old at my first game sat in the north bank watching a 0-0 draw against Aston villa. The crowd sang and cheered and there were smiles everywhere even though the game itself was dull and boring. We were sat around 5th in the table and it was Christmas. But that was how it was. Then this random guy shows up (after the wonder years of Bruce Rioch – thanks for Dennis btw!)… Read more »
man, we’ve treated Wenger like shit this year. i know the team has performed like shit so many times this year, but Wenger doesn’t deserve some of the vitriol that has been directed his way. the man has literally devoted his existence to the club.
So anyone who devotes their existence to the club can have the manager’s job then?
I’ll take it and I’ll save you £8m a year.
I’ll probably finish ahead of Leicester and Spuds too.
if you devote your existence to something that you love, if you genuinely give it your all, you don’t deserve to be called shit, or asked to leave your post because you didn’t win a prize.
if the goal of Arsenal is to win trophies by any means necessary, ( a la Chelski and Manure) then fine go ahead and sack the man.
but i think we are more than that.
Whilst I respect AW as a man, as a manager, & most of all for what he has done for the club…I’m sorry, but I no longer respect his comments. “…it is about getting the best out of the team and focusing and giving everything in every single game”. We just haven’t seen that this year, & it’s increasingly noticeable.
Fans are forgetting what he has done for the club. Had he left during the years when the stadium was being built we would be a mid table team. We have grown as a club, financially and global support wise, we are set up for the future and for our next manager. Also, we cannot under any circumstances appoint a new manager when there is so much pressure around the club. You have the right to criticise, but for a man who has elevated the club without winning a title takes something special. No other club has done that. I… Read more »
How long are you gonna speak abt stadium bla bla bla..Look at Dortmund, Juve,Atletico etc. who all had even bigger problems and worser situations than we had..They still managed to win big and look where they are now.
Is anyone asking for wenger to be sacked because he didnt win a prize? I thought it was because he failed to adapt,failed to treat opposition with due respect,failed to motivate his players mentally and tactically,failed to buy an needed couple of outfield players and has done all of the above year on year,all this would suggest a lack of devotion too or at least some inability, so remind me why he gets to choose his boss and then choose his ‘sacking’ again… ps he is called shit and other bad things because those fans feel helpless,they are held accountable… Read more »
When things go bad people blame the manager, ask yourself why Spurs and Leicester are playing well, is it the manager or players?
bad example as its clearly the manager,we have better players than both of them
I think I am also running out of patience for him.
But I think he deserves one more chance to redeem himself after what has been a dreadful season.
This was definitely the worst season under Arsene.
I understand there is a lasting problem and I think it is time for change but why the f*ck is the press only talking about us like we are being relegated? Why no talk about United and Chelsea who won’t make the CL again and who are way under? Do United seem like they can win a major trophy any time soon?
Yes they do….the FA cup is theirs for the taking and when they do win it Van Gaal will be safe in his job just as Arsene was following our recent cup successes.
Okay I’ve had enough of people going on about the fears of changing managers citing the conditions of man utd , liverpool as examples.. the question is ‘do we have to be like them?? Those teams were made of average players and have since employed average managers to match..
Also, those teams(man utd and chelsea) have enjoyed recent success both domestic and continental while we’ve wholeheartedly supported wenger through donkey years of mediocrity and excuses..
This mockery cannot continue
£85 to sit in a shit seat in the corner (top tier) for a Cat A game to watch Theo on £140k p/w run around like a timid lamb and people question why we want change
Fans are so bitter and fickle these days. Embarrassed to call myself an Arsenal fan. Club wont give into pressure to fire a manager whose been nothing but loyal, fans end up planning to leave early. Equivilent of throwing a tantrum. Childish. Give me your tickets, im sure some would kill for them.
Arsene needs a David Dein type character as his right hand man….in fact he needs to be the right hand man of a David Dein type character. Ivan just doesn’t do it and not do the other goons running the club and Arsene seems bereft of real support.
Just my opinion.
Shut the f**k up and get the hell out
I love you Arsenal and I will support you regardless of whether you win or lose. You are my club and run in my veins… Arsene we as gooners owe you since you brought all those joys to us while also making us fun to watch for the neutrals as well. I remember the time when people taunted me for sticking with the boring Arsenal. Thanks for changing it so much that the neutrals admire the way we play. I have my concerns about the way things are going but I believe that we need to stop all media activities… Read more »
spot on mate
I am so torn on this subject. I dont want Arsene to go but I feel like thats the only way we can turn this ship around. I cant understand how these players are underperforming so badly, however this is exactly how Chelsea fans and Jose Mourinho would have felt until the point he was sacked. Yes its the managers fault for buying the players however when you sign players the way we do, you are purchasing with intent for them to become worldclass. Walcott, Ox, Rambo, Gabriel, Gibbs could all leave in my eyes and replaced with winners rather… Read more »
The doer and the thinker…no allowance for the other….as the failing light illuminates…the mercenaries creed. Words of wisdom from the greatest English philosopher ever. Character, hard work, leadership and loyalty….the commitment to youth, style and club. I will miss them if the mercenaries prevail.
Oooh Shit, Wenger shouldn’t have said anything he’s making every thing more messier
where is Silent Stan hiding?