Arsenal have been accused of being content and comfortable with top four finishes rather than going out and pushing for a title with a new manager.
It was a nightmare week for the Gunners last week, as defeats to Watford and Chelsea effectively ended their faint hopes of winning the Premier League title this season.
In turn, the focus has returned to Arsene Wenger’s long-term future at the club, with his current contract set to expire at the end of the season.
It was a discussion that took place on Sunday Supplement this past weekend, and the panel believe that the Arsenal hierarchy will be content with finishing in the top four and have been influenced by what has happened at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.
“It comes down to what the club want,” The Telegraph’s Sam Wallace told the Sky Sports show. “Do they want to push on, to take the discomfort of change in return for changing this cycle of, I hesitate to say failure, but not winning trophies? Or are they happy with what they’ve got?
“I think so far the [Stan] Kroenke ownership have shown they are clearly happy with what they’ve got. I think they are happy with the top four.”
That point was echoed by Matt Dickinson from The Times, who believes that without a proper succession plan like what happened at United, Arsenal will want to avoid slipping out of the Champions League at all costs which means playing it safe with Wenger.
“The owners will look at what happened to United and think that looks hard work, down to seventh, missing the Champions League, and that will make them even more cautious and say ‘over to you Arsene, you decide’.”
Whether or not Wenger secures a top-four finish this season remains to be seen, as ultimately unless Arsenal snap out of their slump quickly, they could be drop out with Manchester United on the march.
Coupled with competition from Manchester City and Liverpool, with Tottenham Hotspur hopeful of pushing on and rivalling Chelsea, the pressure really is building at the Emirates as supporters await a decision over who will be in charge beyond this season.