Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is reportedly refusing to step down as manager at the end of the season, essentially telling the club they’ll have to sack him.
This would undoubtedly be a big call from the Gunners if they came to that decision, with the Frenchman at the club for 22 years and still set to go down in history as their most successful of all time, despite less silverware in the second half of his reign than the first.
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According to the Times, Wenger wants to give it one more season at the Emirates Stadium, and believes his close relationship with majority shareholder Stan Kroenke could give him some hope of keeping his job.
Other figures at Arsenal seem less convinced, such as Ivan Gazidis, but it will take a brave man to tell Wenger he has to go if he won’t come to that decision himself.
Various recent reports suggest the manager’s future will be reviewed at the end of the season, with rumours already flying about on who could replace him in north London.
The Daily Mirror have reported that Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta could be a candidate, and also that he’d be Wenger’s preferred choice to replace him.
Another report from the Daily Mirror has linked Carlo Ancelotti with an interest in the job, while the Daily Star suggest head of recruitment Sven Mislintat wants Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann to come in.
Either way, however, it seems Wenger is not ready to go without a fight.
