Speculation regarding Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal future is again ramping up following the club’s 5-1 blowout loss at Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Wenger is out-of-contract after this season, and was offered a new contract earlier this season.
The longest-tenured manager in English football at 20-plus years, Wenger’s future has been an annual discussion for several seasons.
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Yet it’s no surprise that Arsenal wouldn’t plan on kicking him to the curb in the middle of the season, something the BBC says is not being considered despite a second-successive season of 5-1 losses at the Allianz Arena and a probable seventh-straight year of leaving the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16.
Given Wenger’s wealth of contributions to Arsenal, it would be difficult to remove him with three months to go in the season. But Arsenal is also risking its Top Four status and European place for next season if he’s lost his flavor amongst its current batch of stars.
Wenger said the side “looked very jaded” in the loss, and said the team “collapsed” after Laurent Koscielny went out injured. Both criticisms seem very much a managerial issue. Is honoring Wenger’s incredible contributions to the Gunners worth the risk?