"Men do not accept their prophets", er, prophesied Dostoevsky.
In relation to the reign of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal - something so long that even Dostoevsky would demur from chronicling - this aphorism is entirely true. It's not true, however, that we haven't given Wenger his due. Nope, the spurned prophets to whom we owe an apology are Troops, Claude and the rest of Arsenal FanTV, blud.
They've been moaning for years that they want Wenger out, and this latest insipid run goes to show that perhaps they were right along. Much of the world agrees by now that Wenger's time at Arsenal is up...aside from Wenger himself. His moaning about refereeing decisions after the Carabao Cup final collapse were the ramblings of the deluded, and his attempt at a profound analogy after the Brighton game conjured images of a man so confused and bedraggled they were unable to even put on their clothes. (When this is taken with Wenger's much-publicised issue with zippers in happier times than these, a deeply troubling image emerges).
Anyway, with another season left on his contract, it would appear that Wenger is sticking steadfastly by himself, and a report by Matt Hughes in The Times today claims that Wenger has told his staff that he will not be quitting.
Wenger has never broken a contract, and wants to maintain that record at Arsenal. Hughes writes that with much of the board of the belief that Wenger's time is up, the manager's last hope is to appeal to Stan Kroenke, with whom he has a good relationship.
The 68-year-old has lost the support of key directors at the club, but is hoping that the strength of his relationship with Stan Kroenke, the majority shareholder, will spare him the sack. That may depend on the feedback that Kroenke receives from his son, Josh, an Arsenal director who has spent the past fortnight gaining insight into the club’s operations, but who has now returned to the US.
The full report is available here.
