A very familiar pattern is emerging in Arsene Wenger’s press conference these days.
- The club’s in-house editorial team ask about team news.
- A couple of questions are fielded about the latest result.
- The broadcast teams from Sky and the BBC start posing questions about Wenger’s contract situation. Initially, he bats them away with humour.
- There’s a lull while other topics are discussed (usually the futures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, followed by something on a wider issue in football).
- James Olley from the Evening Standard once again pushes the boss on whether he’s staying or going. Stubborn as always, Wenger twists and turns.
- The clock ticks towards 14 minutes and press officer Mark Gonnella calls time on the Q&A and asks the assembled media to ‘take your microphones out please.’
Here are this week’s ‘best bits’ of WENGER vs EVERYONE WHO ASKS HIM ABOUT HIS CONTRACT…
If your best striker is six yards out from goal and is going to shoot but the goalkeeper he’s shooting against always saves, he’s never scored against him, would you still encourage him to shoot?
I would encourage him to score goals, yes.
So…can I ask you, when will you make an announcement about your future?
[Laughter in the room]
Err…that has nothing to do with scoring goals. What you ask me is to score own goals basically.
[More laughter]
When the announcement comes, will it come from you or the club?
From the club.
Are there any pre-requisites on any contract that might be there in the contract you have signed or might sign?
No, I have nothing to add to that you know.
Are you making plans for the pre-season games?
Of course.
Which suggests you’ll be here?
No, that suggests that I do my job which is to plan for the future of the club.
When the announcement comes from the club, will it be before the end of the season?
I cannot tell you now. I don’t know. I’m focused on the next game.
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Questions about Palace’s Yohan Cabaye / Alexis Sanchez contract / Mesut Ozil’s mentality…
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Arsene, the little group of fans that protested on Tuesday are not here today. Does that show what a result against West Ham can do for you?
No, you know we had three fans on Tuesday [protesting] but when I went home we had ten fans who were very positive. Unfortunately, you pick the three who were here [protesting]. I said my target is to keep all the fans happy and that’s always what I try to do. If I don’t manage to do it, I’m of course, disappointed.
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Questions about Palace’s win over Chelsea
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Arsene, just to clarify one point on your contract, it’s been widely suggested that you’ve been offered a two year deal. Is that the case?
I spoke enough about that.
Is there an offer on the table?
I have nothing to add on that.
Is that a yes or a no? Seriously though, is there an offer on the table?
I cannot tell you anything more than what I told you many times. I can understand that the subject is of interest but to me what is of interest is what is happening on the football pitch.
For me the future is in Wenger hands, not has been signed yet, and as he said, he already knows what he’ll do. I think the decision will be down to our final place in the table. If we quality for the UCL, he stays, if we continue to play terribly until the end, he’s out.
This argument has been repeated many times but I believe it’s a gross oversimplification.
Another day in paradise.
NO. NO PHIL COLLINS.
I’m sorry, but us fans are being treated like shit by Arsene and the club.
I’m a devoted fan of 35 years and I don’t feel being treated as such by Wenger so with due respect do remove me from your “us”
Since Gio is not down in the sewer yet I’d say he’s a blatant liar.
Well just focus on your forth and exit….
Didn’t Arsene say, his future would be known in march? Did anybody force him to say that? He already said he had transformed the club in his 20 years and doesn’t see any big changes required. What are the fans supposed to believe ?
Well he did say, it’s the club who will announce it. This may just be conjecture but Ivan shows up but doesn’t say much about it, he makes us assume though that on the contract front, nothing has been presented to Arsene. Maybe the club isn’t sure what line of action to take, it’s possible Wenger has said he’d be leaving and they probably think they can convince him to stay and that probably doesn’t interest Ivan. You never know, but I have a feeling a decision has been made and Stan is playing the waiting game. It’s all just… Read more »
There is NOTHING to base your beliefs on yet. So the best thing to do is wait and watch. If that makes you feel like shit, what can one say but sorry bro. If Arsene isn’t announcing his decision despite saying he will announce – that is a sign that the decision isn’t solely up to him (but the board or dependent on player performances). It has huge implications either way. Also, Arsene HAS transformed the club. You can’t debate that. As to big changes that is subjective. Does/should it include changes in management? Staff? Boardroom? Ownership? Coaching drills? Transfers?… Read more »
I admit that might have been too strong a phrase to use but on a wider point.. look at what’s happened to the fan base, arguing with each other over pretty much everything. It’s so sad ? (Not pointed at you, just a general observation)
I have to chime in here–contract negotiations at its simplest are often documents that take a few hours to hammer out the key details. Usually an attorney reviews the contract, sends it to the opposing attorney for review, and once they can agree on ALL terms listed, both parties will sign. That’s the general concept, and for something like an annual lease renewal, car loan, etc., it’s fairly standard and boiler plate templates can be used, and it’s all wrapped up in a few hours. Now, instead of the typical consumer, you have the longest incumbent football manager in England… Read more »
That’s 5 minutes I’m never getting back
It should’ve taken you less to read through it…
yaaaaaaaaaawn.
No responsible owner or board of directors would allow this inertia to continue.
Seriously what difference does it make to the fans now at this stage…we have to win as many games as possible and finish as high as possible with hopefully a Cup in the bag…whether the fans know or don’t know if he is staying or going counts for nothing. Get a grip
Some of us really don’t care about garbage time games or even the FA cup,
It has been just another false pretences in the last few years to act like we’re actually competing for the title.
I love the FA cup, I think it’s the last magical cup in domestic competitions, but it’s still a knock out competition, It doesn’t mean we’re really up with the big clubs.
“Some of us really don’t care about garbage time games or even the FA cup.”
Good to know that you are all-weather loyal Arsenal supporters. Er…
Think your comment is a little on the harsh side canon. You’re basically trying to say that your the bigger or better fan because you care about “garbagw time games or even the FA cup”…& that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s true. Every fan is free to choose the level of support that they show the club, & how they do it. What’s important is that they support the club. Personally I don’t really care who is manager next season in that it can be AW or someone new…maybe he stays…maybe he goes. I have certain players that I really… Read more »
I’m not being harsh at all. I don’t absolve anyone for this clusterfuck of a season. Wenger, board, players have to answer for what has happened. Like you are wary of them I am wary of fans who have no restraint and continuously pull the team down. Regardless of what happens the players and staff who remain with us next season will remember if fans sang while the chips were down and egged them on to snag a trophy or dismissed it outright even before we reached the final. I am not a bigger fan than anyone because of my… Read more »
I don’t appreciate the tone of the things you said or the arrogance of the content, but it’s the internet and you have the right to be a massive douche towards others I guess. Let me explain myself a bit more clearly this time – I don’t care for the rest of the season because the only thing I care about is change – Wenger has to leave, it can be after winning the FA cup or not (but believing that is a bit naive, since he had the opportunity to leave on a high after last trophy or the… Read more »
Doing my best to meet your douche with mine.
Just like you don’t care about things that aren’t yet beyond this ragged Arsenal side (we got you right the first time), I don’t care about you not appreciating what I have to say.
Cheers.
Yeah, but I bet you’d rather we won the FA cup than Spurs, or Chelsea get a double or citeh. I also think you’d rather we finish well above Utd, Pool and City. If you don’t, then I am not so sure about your supporter status. Even Arsenal sympathisers want us to succeed at these, how much more a supporter of the club
Can I ask a simple question. What does it matter if we know if he’s staying or leaving? Are we going to be making plans for the next boss? Seriously all this talk about we need to know, but do we? What actual difference does it make? All this talk about stability doesn’t relate to the fans at all in my humble opinion. It’s just something for the media to write about and a stick to beat whatever side you disagree with with. Personally it’s true that the fact it’s becoming a meme superficially makes us look a bit silly… Read more »
The problem is that a SERIOUS football club does plan ahead – They don’t just sit around and wait to see whether or not the current manager decides to stay (Which is an absurd on its own, I know we’re kind of used to it but it should be decided the other way around…). We have to rebuild and change the structure of the club almost entirely, and if you want to have this process running smoothly, you have to plan ahead and start as early as you can. Too bad we’re not as ambitious as some of us might… Read more »
So you would basically fire Wenger asap and publicly. Put Bouldy in charge for remaining games which no SERIOUS fan cares for anyway. Flirt with Allegiri, Sampaoli, Jardim, Low et al. Bid a crazy amount for some hotshot player and lure him with… wait… no CL, no big salary, no top players as teammates.. um… great loyal support??
Doesn’t sound serious or sound or sensible but it does sound exciting.
The real problem these days is people think this club is their favorite movie series, they want to determine how it works, how it’s run, they want to be told everything. And by being told everything it means they want the rest of the World to hear ‘oh look, we are The Arsenal, this is what we are about to do. Be afraid, be very afraid’ It’s just silly really. If the club and Wenger have agreed to part ways, and it’s publicly announced, the next thing will be fans DEMANDING to know who his succersor is regardless of the… Read more »
To be fair though if Arsenal is actually moving on they need to already have an agreement with a new sporting director at a minimum and a coach as well. You have to have someone in place before the transfer window so if he’s told the board he’s leaving I suspect they would already have agreements with people. Now Arsenal is under no obligation to announce whether Wenger is staying or leaving to the fans but the staff and players have also said they don’t know either. At some point he at least needs to let his staff know as… Read more »
Wenger might be not the best football manager around any more but he is nothing if not a considerate boss. If he has stood by players who have betrayed him do you think he will casually abandon his staff?
The one thing I am very certain of is this should never be allowed to occur again. The board should follow Man U’s template with Ferguson and put into his contract that he has to let the board know by February or his contract will not be eligible for renewal. You simply cannot wait until a season is over to start getting the people in place to run a club.
This is a twisted version of the things I have said – I never asked Wenger to leave mid-season (like this is an earthquake, those kind of things happen to underperforming managers…).
You ‘flirt’ with the candidates you see as most suitable and decide between you and them about the future plans regarding changing the club structures and signings.
I really don’t appreciate you talking to others as 12 years olds who play Football Manager…
“The problem is that a SERIOUS football club does plan ahead.” There was a plan – Wenger continues – and that plan doesn’t look a 100% wise one to all parties concerned. “They don’t just sit around and wait to see whether or not the current manager decides to stay” Are they doing that? What are you basing this on? Pure conjecture. You want them to be decisive – yes. As much as I don’t want to be in their shoes right now (or be seen as defending them), I’m sure there are people in there (if not Chips or… Read more »
It’s obvious that he’s signed a contract and wants some good results to announce it off. Not formally announcing it is such a load of bollocks
I’m not even sure anymore, if this is really how it happened or is it just another great ironic post from Arseblog News.
And that is terryfiing.
He has already decided to stay. And club owner are of course satisfied with his financial record to make that happen. Even all bookies have closed the bet on Wenger for next season.
Professional and dignified.
As I have mentioned the board is doing the right thing. The only people who think an answer now matters are the ones who want him to say he is quitting. What benefit do you get from him saying he is staying or quitting at this point? 1) If he says he is quitting, a number of players (and their agents) aside from Alexis and Ozil will be looking toward the summer and distracted. That will not bode well for our final push. 2) If he says he is staying, the same old sweet empty crowd will be at it… Read more »