The former Arsenal and England international midfield star Ray Parlour sounds to me as though he has a lot of sympathy with the frustration that has been boiling over for a large section of Arsenal fans this season, but he also sounds like he thinks we would be wasting our time with the planned protest during the Premier League match against Norwich at the Emirates this weekend.
Not because he disagrees, though, but because he feels that the club have already made their decision and will allow Arsene Wenger to see out the remaining year of his contract. As reported by The Mirror, Parlour does think that next year will be the Frenchman´s last in charge and will almost be like a favour to him for the success he has brought in the past.
It might sound odd but Parlour also thinks that the club is rightly worried about who to replace the long serving manager with and must work hard behind the scenes to prepare and get the change right. He believes that they have not done that yet and this is why the Arsenal board are not going to change theior minds whatever the fans do.
Parlour said, “I don’t think he’ll leave, I think he’ll be there next season.
“It’s a situation where Wenger will decide when he leaves, and he’s been there so long he probably deserves that.
“But it might be his last season next year, at the end of his contract. At the moment it’s going to be difficult for the board to get rid of Arsene.
“You always worry about which manager comes in next. Who would you have? Jurgen Klopp’s gone to Liverpool , Pep Guardiola to Man City . There isn’t a huge amount of managers out there.
“It’s a big decision they’ve got to make. If you’re going to sack a manager you’ve got to have a plan. And if they don’t have a plan then they’ve got to keep him.”
I think Parlour is probably right about the club´s decision to keep Wenger in charge for at least one more year but I do not think that should make the unhappy fans not voice their anger. We make the club what it is and it is us that hurts the most when we fail on the pitch.
Do you think there is any chance of the protests from fans having an effect?