Friday, March 29, 2024

Report: Wenger met Kroenke ahead of board meeting to decide his future

According to the BBC and David Ornstein, Arsene Wenger held a meeting with Stan Kroenke today (Monday) ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled board meeting.

The majority shareholder was in town and attended Saturday’s FA Cup final win in a suit that looked like it belonged to Bugsy Malone’s grandfather.

The report suggests that the Frenchman’s future will have been decided and that the decision will be relayed to the board tomorrow.

It’s widely believed that Wenger will sign a two year deal, taking him through to the end of the 2018-19 season, and that some background changes will be made.

The 67 year old was opposed to a Director of Football who would have final say over decisions he believes should be made by the manager, but did say he was open to working with people who would make his job easier.

The club are expected to go public with the decision on Wednesday, putting an end to months of painful, damaging silence, and once there’s clarity in that matter then the focus will turn to the playing staff.

There are decisions to be made about Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny – all of whom are heading into the final 12 months of their contracts.

There are fringe players who need to be moved on and, of course, other acquisitions made with Wenger already on record to say the club need one or two top quality players.

Whatever happens, it promises to be a busy off-season.

Listen to today’s post-FA Cup final Arsecast Extra

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Adam O\'Leary

Staying

IamaGoober

Its kind of got to the point now were its too late for him to leave, it would just leave the club with far too much to do over the summer break. Getting a new manager in now would be some task when you take into consideration all of the players that are out of contract, the shake up needed of the coaching staff, the youth academy, the scouts, I could go on. In all honesty it really is a mess behind the curtain, for me personally its also so hard to ignore the stories of total incompetence from our… Read more »

Pedant

Everything is a total shambles? – won the FA Cup and 5th in the league, unbeaten 20 match run early in the season and 8 wins out of 9 at the end of the season.

We need to improve our consistency and keep performance levels high through the season and keep on bringing in players that will make a difference. I agree that Wenger does need more support, the board need to do something there.

IamaGoober

Don’t be naive enough to let the FA Cup mask what was in all honestly a shockingly poor season. I don’t want to discredit the FA Cup win because it was amazing. I was at Wembley to watch the game, and it was truly incredible to win it in the manner we did, considering the circumstances surrounding the club at the moment. But putting the win to one side, the domestic and European campaigns were nothing short of a disaster. And yes, I would go as far to say that behind the scenes we are a shambles; – Stan Kroenke,… Read more »

Pedant

Agreed on the people above Wenger, consider how different things would be with good versions of them.

And to see ‘shockingly poor seasons’, go back to most of the 70s and 80s (bar the odd high point).

IamaGoober

But that holds no bearing now. Its not the 70s and 80s. That has literally zero relevance. That was back when it cost about a fiver to go and watch your team play, not the best part of £2,000. We are the only club in world football who have two billionaire owners, (one of) the highest match day revenues, play in the wealthiest league – yet we claim we cant compete in the transfer market to sign the top drawer players necessary to truly compete domestically and in The Champions League. There are huge problems at Arsenal that need to… Read more »

Paul

Would be amazed if he doesn’t stay. Has won the FA Cup as many times in the last 4 years than Sp*rs have in the last 50. And in total has won as many as Liverpool ever has.

Deserves a chance to keep the Cup Final form going.

lordgunner

whatever the fan want , we all knew the board got already his new contract since january ,they arent ready for a new manager or even less to choose the right one, now they have 2 years to put everything in place
not my favorite choice , but better than the panic with wenger leaving this summer and the clueless board chosing the “flavour of the month “manager like MU after ferguson left

Double doubles

We’ve been down this road before (cup win will spur us on to greater heights! Trust!). Please let’s stop deluding ourselves – the mid-season collapses will happen at critical times, the summer incompetence will keep on keeping on, and we’ll always have ‘handbrakes’ and ‘unbelievable mental strength’ at convenient times.

I’m glad he’s staying for sentimental reasons, he’s an honorable and principled man, of which not many are left in football. But honestly, I think we’ll still struggle in the league and CL (if we make it next year).

Ricardo

Hey blogs, love this blog and all, but your references to to old movies and shows are outdated. I have no clue what you referring to half the time and I need to google it to figure it out.

Times change, roll with the punches.

Otherwise, your blog is great ! Cheers !

Wellarsed

What movie/show reference? Surely the Bugsy Malone (a real person) reference was to Stan’s very out-of-fashion and very tacky pin-striped suit.

Mbappe to the future

Bugsy Malone was a real person?!

Wellarsed

No, was thinking of Bugs Moran. Either way, everyone knows what he meant – Stan dressed like a tacky mobster throwback.

Godfrey Twatsloch

Opinions on Kroenke and Bugsy Malone aside, I thought Stan’s outfit looked ace.

David Hillier\'s luggage

He could have been anything that he wanted to be…

Antony

One of the dumbest comment I’ve read in a long time.

Ricardo

Wouldn’t be talking if I had a name like yours.

Eamonn

What kind of comment is that … Lol

Spanish Gooner

How the fuck do you not know Bugsy Malone? Sincerely, a 19 year old

Faisal Narrage

He should get a pie in the face from my pie gun just for that.

Gnarls

Pffft, kids these days.

BidOnLard

Soo… Learning something new or tingling your curiosity is a bad thing?

Mick

What a Spur$y thing to say

red

A spursy thing to say would be whats the FA cup not who’s bugsy malone 🙂

PodB

Have you heard of Ricardo Montalban? He was a Mexican actor who lived on Fantasy Island with a little person played by Herve Villechaize who looked a bit like Diego Costa but nowhere near as ugly.
They could fulfill literally any fantasy requested, but it rarely turned out as expected. Bit like the cup final.
Herve: “the plane boss, the plane”.
Mr Roarke: “Ze fucking plane, its got a Wenger Out banner on it. Are we in Stoke?”

Max Fischer

That’s a really interesting (and silly) comment. Just curious, when in your opinion is the cut off time for references? Twenty years…30 years? Like, can I still make a reference to “Back to the Future” even though it’s over 30 years old? Not sure I want to live in a world devoid of Marty McFly references…

Ricardo

Kids these days?!?! I’m 35 years old and never heard of Oxy Moron Or whatever the hell his name is.

God forbid someone on this blog is born after the 1800s after you geezers.

George

Oi, you! Get the hell off my lawn! :p

vital

love blog’s references and examples. it is what makes him unique, amongst other things.
and yeah, that Malone thing is a real person.

David C

Ricky Ricardo, don’t be proud of your ignorance.

What would Inanimate Carbon Rod think of your insolence?

Wellarsed

Amazing that at this late stage there still seems to be so much uncertainty surrounding his decision. Earlier I was convinced he’d stay and that the contract may have even been signed, but as time has passed it’s become more evident that things were far from that straightforward and less in Wenger’s hands than it seemed. Still, I will be amazed if the announcement on Tuesday isn’t a two year extension for Arsène.

Wenger\'s Pony

*Wednesday

Wellarsed

Tuesday here & word is out already. Sound’s like little is going to change at all for two years.

Wenger\'s Pony

No indicated changes to the club structure is fucking madness. Even Dick Law will stay.

ARGH! At least start some succession planning you muppets!

Donald\'s Trump

Wenger won’t let them.

HighAF

Hey give Santi a new deal first! His contract runs out next month.

Antony

I think he signed a year extension earlier this season.

Neil

I love Santi….but those injuries. Who do we have that can consistently fill in and provide that creative spark when Santi’s out?

Frode

Santi will be like a new signing.

David C

a bonus player when he plays. Nothing wrong with that!

St. Cathorla

Xhaka is playing in the santi role at the moment imo. Albeit he is less quick footed and elusive as the 32-year-old, he as the vision and range to pick long switches or sharp balls that take 2-3 players out of the play. Hope he continues his form.

Bojude

I really dislike that guy Mr K…including his taste of clothing… Would snub his handshake if I was ozil or Sanchez or anyone presented with that manus

dennis

Am I the only one who kinda liked his suit?

HighAF

I love Santi Cazorla x

Atom

At this point it’s almost impossible to see what the alternative to Wenger staying is. While Arsenal is one of the most attractive jobs in world football – Wenger has total control of literally every aspect of the footballing side of the club with no meddling at all from the owners & massive amounts of patience from Kroenke as well – they’ve simply left it too late to go out and recruit a new team. Man City etc already are signing players while we still haven’t sorted out the contracts of a 1/4 of our first team. When the board… Read more »

Wellarsed

Hard to imagine the kind of chaos that would ensue if Wenger walked this week – no replacement Manager lined-up, multiple key player contracts unsigned, new player recruitment stopped in it’s tracks …

Atom

Now to be fair though Wenger had a pretty big hand in creating this mess as he is the one who allowed the contracts to run down. If no progress has been made (we still aren’t meaningfully challenging on any front other than the FA Cup) etc and it’s time to move on in 2 years, we need to make sure replacements are lined up and key players aren’t heading into the final year of their contracts. The board hasn’t done a great job in all of this – but neither has Wenger.

Wellarsed

Agreed, I think there’s been a fair bit of brinkmanship – and miscommunication – on both sides. If he does stay this has to be viewed as a transition phase or we’ll be back here in two years time.

JDizzle

He’s also the man who managed to bring in players with the calibre of Sanch and Ozil in the first place. Easy to forget that. You don’t see Sp*rs or Liverpool attracting/developing that sort of talent.

Atom

Jdizzle – you see them do what Wenger attempted to do with Wilshire, Ramsey etc. They find young players and turn them into borderline world class players – Luis Suarez, Kane, Coutinho, Ali (overhyped but clearly good), Loris etc. Wenger himself has admitted he has tried to recruit pretty much every young talented French player and has been turned down by them – Greizman, Pogba, Mpabe, etc. I don’t think Wenger’s transfer dealings have been a massive source of strength (he often buys well but rarely buys enough)

JDizzle

That is a very valid point.. I’d at least put Kane and Suarez in that category. (and Bale)

I guess the real test is holding on to those players while adding/developing 1 or 2 more world class talents.

Henry & Bergkamp probably wouldnt have won anything without Vieira and Pires backing them up.

Original Paul

If it’s true (the source quality suggests that it is), then I am glad that Arsene is seen by Stan as more important than the board in the short term.

Original Paul

WE WON THE CUP!

Wright on the money

If Wenger stays he needs to put on the table that Sanchez and Ozil have to be offered the contracts they want.

Also we need more than two players so I hope Wenger won’t do his usual trick of getting one good player and saying the squad is good enough, it showed this season the squad is a long way off being good enough nearly 20 points behind the leaders.

Faisal Narrage

Search deep inside, and you know nothing will change.

People are still in post-cup euphoria

kaius

Still buzzing from the cup win. It says in David Ornstein’s article “changes will not be drastic”. Really wish I hadn’t read it.

Voldermort

Exaxtly. Thr problem wasnt so much with the players we have its how they are used and coached. The cup win was great and well deserved but can thay cloud such a poor league performance, for some it clearly does. Nothing will chmage with another 2 years. The chaos of leaving things until the last minute will remain. The overuse of certain players, the reliance on underperforming players,the reluctance to go the one or two steps further in the transfer market. All these things will remain and we will be here again next season with the same gripes and and… Read more »

B B

If all he won in the next 2 years was b2b FA cups, would that be a success to you?

voldermort

Your missing the point, its a success, any trophy is but we have been promised by the board a utopia that clearly isn’t happening. How many times do we have to say if only we had a world class forward or world class this or that and have fallen short yet again. I cannot see 2 more years of arsene being any different. Is Ramsey a great player or as many say total waste of time? i have no idea as he’s been used so poorly over the years. Has the ox progressed like we thought he would, Is this… Read more »

California Gooner

Please God let him get dismissed!

dennis

It is hard to thumbs this up even tho i basically agree

PodB

So, if we retain Alexis and the genius who is Ozil, both on $280-300K a week, and add one or two more top, top quality attacking players on $220-260K we’ll be fucked will we?
We already have a great BFG-Kos inspired defence with the new left-back Ricardo Rodriquez and possible Szecney return as back up GK.
Theo might go but I doubt it, and K Gibbs sadly will.
What could go wrong? … Arsene still has the dressing room, that much is crystal clear. Be a beamer and a dreamer California. It ain’t over till it’s over.

Voldermort

Huge amounts of ifs, buts and maybes. Been here so many times and the ending is always the same

Gooner Sam

Saturday was amazing but I can’t help but feel that ground hog day is just around the corner.

Wenger will stay on and two or three new signings will not solve the issues.

I hope I am wrong but I feel like I have been saying that for quite a few years now

Atom

So the only thing that makes me feel a little better is after Big Sam humiliated him, Wenger finally switched to a formation that has far more defensive solidarity and also suits the players we have. We clearly need upgrades at several positions – but hopefully the last 10 games are a spring board (similar to Leicester avoiding relegation prior to the title or Chelsea after Mourihno was sacked) for next year. We still need a forward – I love Welbeck’s energy but the guy simply doesn’t consistently score and it’s really hard to win a title with a forward… Read more »

Donald\'s Trump

Both examples you cite involved a change of manager.

Bosscielny

This is indeed going to be a crucial week for our club. We need to sort out the off field issues asap so that it gives us maximum time to focus on the preparation for next season. We can’t be sacrificing the initial games of every season as they inevitably come to bite us back in the arse. Off topic but what a load of crap are the Tony Adams comments on Arsene Wenger. I mean I respect and love him for what he did on the pitch but this is clear lack of class. A guy who’s failed at… Read more »

GunnerYY

So another 2 years when we have no chance to win PL.
At least we can compete in EFL and FA cup, also Europa league if we lucky enough.

John Kelly

Kroenke still there another 2 years Restricted transfer war chest 100 million not enough will lose players to make up remainder no guarantee he will get who he wants and will finish 7th next season . Back to where he started get out or get in usmanov backed by board.

GoonerJust

Realistically, Stan will give another 2 years and Wenger will accept it. The club is in no shape to have a major succession at this stage.

ondi

Wow, the club has got their work cut out for them over the break. I just struggle to comprehend how a club like ours let it get to this stage of disarray.

Arsene Gonner

For me, he’s got to go. We’re out of the Champions League now and with Sanchez and a few more big players likely to leave the club needs to be rebuilt and Wenger is not the man to be entrusted with the money to do it. I fear Arsenal are on the slippery slope, which means they are going to need to be mentally strong and resourceful with the players they have. That means more tactical reliance, which makes Wenger even less suitable. It really is time to go. Not only will he struggle to get this club back into… Read more »

Rooks

If Arsene’s opposed to a director of football what was David dein doing all those years?

Is Dick law in that role now or am I right in thinking we’d be looking to revert back to having someone in that “David Dein role”

It’s always baffled me how so many outside the club have repeatedly called for a return to that structure and yet there’s still been no change.

Frankly, makes me nervous about Arsene leaving abruptly with such seeming ineptitude aiming the arsenal cannon.

santori

Makes absolute sense. They have much to discuss. I think Wenger will want assurance he has total assurance for full control as he enters his last years with the club and helps transition it to a new era and succession. This makes absolute logic. All this talk of the need for a Director of Football etc is nonsense concocted by the same claptrap media who knew so much they gave us no chance of winning the FA cup tie. Why do we need a Director of Football? Wenger has bought Holding, Monreal, Koscielny, Alexis, Santi, Ozil none of them with… Read more »

ChrisGoona

Well put. Time for fans to lay down the ammunition and stop the negativity. We need to ALL get behind the team and manager for an ENTIRE season. Not just when we are hitting form, not just when there is validated hope, but actually support and get behind the team. The board and supporter groups need to be urged to help with this area. It is imperative we have a better atmosphere. As we are all aware, the board are a tad incompetent on the footballing front. We should all hope Wenger stays and is part of his own succession…… Read more »

kaius

Part of the Arsenal Way is that whether we have confidence in him or not, we don’t fire our manager during the season. No matter how difficult things get mid-season Wenger has always said “judge me in May”. Sir Chips’ statement emphasised that as well. So the part in this article about Wenger wanting to stay because “he’s acutely aware of the disruption his departure at such a late stage could cause” really makes it sound like we’re an unprofessional organisation that’s been sleep-walking through the crisis we went through this season. Whether it causes too much disruption or not,… Read more »

And_Arsene_Said...

“Report: Wenger met Kroenke ahead of board meeting to decide his future”

Hope Wenger told Kroenke he’s decided he doesn’t have much of a future as owner of the club at this meeting.

Gooner

I have a feeling that Sanchez and özil have already signed new contracts.

Arsene Gonner

Why would they sign new contracts? These are ambitious players with no special affinity to Arsenal. This is likely to be their last major contract, taking them up to 32/33 years old. They will want maximum financial parity with their peers and CL football, which they’re not getting at Arsenal. Sanchez is not happy, there is NO WAY he is staying in my opinion. That alone is a crippling blow, his contribution is irreplaceable, especially now that we’re out of the CL and can not attract that sort of player.

Matt

Two more seasons of PL mediocrity

Carlos _ Santana

If the boss signs on we get behind him.. I know we’ve been saying it forever but something has surely got to change for next season if he does..

Mootilated

Ah. I can’t wait for everyone to start complaining about his renewal mid-way through next season, only for everyone to then go on about how much they respect and love him when we go on a decent run to finish in the top four…. Yawn.

Shishir

I think he’s gonna leave. And that makes me sad 🙁

Bazza_wicks

A meeting maybe 3 months too late although he said it didn’t effect the team later said it did it no doubt did cost us a top 4 place if he stays maybe after the FA cup win ozil and Sanchez will stay?

Arsenes biggest fan

Thank goodness, it looks like the great man is signing for 2 more years, i wish it was for 5 years, how can we ever replace him.

vital

It is too late for the club that he will be leaving this summer. So certianly he is staying. Manager change needs long periods of planning and that is what the club seems to have not done yet. As much as people would want to see a fresh face (blaa blaa) it is not going to happen practically. Maybe just maybe there has been some flexibility to his Wengerism recently and it could spark some more magic, SAME AS WE WON THE FA CUP!!!

Arsenes biggest fan

Oh by the way is Tony Adams back on the piss, what an idiot to slag the man who saved his career.

Berlingoon

Not just his career. Probably his life.

Lucky

Arsenal FC is not prepared for a new coach. Also there are few experienced and loyal coach who can really work with arsenal fc. I suggest strongly that Wenger stays.

JAL

What is the criteria here for him to stay or go? Has the club moved forwards or backwards in the last 2-3 years? Has our record against the top teams improved? Have we challenged for a title or CL? Is our brand of football still the best in the league? Has our recruitment been good enough? Yes right now the feeling is good post cup final but only a few weeks ago we were battered against spurs, hopeless against palace & West Brom and completely mauled against Bayern. All I ask is for transparency on what is the bar for… Read more »

Danny

If you we’re looking for transparency why not give it too? You talk about how bad it’s been over the last few weeks? Be honest… we’ve smashed it with 3 at the back. We’ve beaten Chelsea, man city, Everton and man united and lost once to a fucking strong spud team away from home. He should’ve done it earlier yes, but we finished really well, and if it weren’t for the endless naysaying, we’d have every reason to start next season with optimism

kaius

It’s not about naysayers, it’s about results over a 38 game season. What JAL is saying you have to look at more than the last 10 games. We tend to finish seasons well – our problem is the regular mid-season collapse/Europe exit. Feelings were pretty raw after the Bayern because we all love the club and no-one wants to see us humiliated that way again. The aftermath of a cup win is not the time to be complacent – we have to use this time to undertake a forensic look at all aspects of the way we work. Whatever decision… Read more »

David Hillier\'s luggage

As many have pointed out, structurally we’re not ready for a new head coach, so why not make those changes over the next couple years by getting rid of Gazidis and Law, and getting in a chief executive to run the Arsenal like a European football club, not an American sports franchise.

...

Oh, come the F’ on.
The contract is waiting for him to be signed for months now and we all know that, it’s just that the results were dreadful for the most of this season so the atmosphere was way too toxic for him to sign it.
Another 2 years of nothing…

Ozenal

Was it me or did Arsene look a bit teary eyed after holding aloft his medal during the post match interview and then literally running off the stage. Doesn’t look like someone who is eager to leave the club.

Ozenal

Josh: “Oh hi dad”

Stan: “Son, this is how you dress if you want to face off an employee with 20 years of nothing but winning stuff”

Josh: “Ok, well we ran some analytics through the ipad and it seems we can reduce the number 11 and number 7 contracts by 1 pound sterling and it won’t affect their performance”

Stan: “Ok, ok, but do you think I can wear this suit more often?”

HM

Just confirmed, he’s staying. Not really a shock!

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