At the end of last season (and the season before in fact), there was a large minority of Arsenal fans that wanted Arsene Wenger to either resign or be sacked, which was made clear by thousands of comments on this site as well as others.
But after our transfer activity this summer (and our excellent start to the season), these dissenters have gone very quiet (or are maybe feeling a bit more positive, like Konstantin) and the anti-Wenger comments have dwindled away.
But of course the season is long and I won’t be surprised to see the doubters all come back again when we lose another game, and if we suddenly drop out of the title race, like last season, the full force of the WengerOut protests will resume in intensity.
Now Wenger himself has admitted that the mood of the fans will be a big factor in whether he extends his contract again at the end of the season.
Le Prof has been discussing his long term plans in the wake of the England job suddenly becoming available again. “One of the factors is that the club and supporters still want me and I still want to stay,” Wenger said. “What will make me want to stay is that I feel I can give more to the club.
“People know that if things go well my priority is this club. After I have to accept as well that if things don’t go well, maybe I do something else.
“If I look back, the way I manage today is not the same as it was five, 10 or 20 years ago. I accept that it can finish tomorrow. It’s a love story and you always expect a love story to last forever, but it can always stop suddenly.”
For some Gooners, nothing less than the League title will do this time around, and maybe a little more than the last 16 in the ECL, and some others think he should go even if he brings in the title, so that Wenger can “go out on a high”. Wenger himself doesn’t feel that should be a factor in his decision. “I am not obsessed by that.” he said. “Would [ex-Manchester United manager Sir Alex] Ferguson not have gone out on a high after the history?
“Time makes a difference with what the guy has done. He would still be the same great manager had he not gone out on a high. You don’t lose his experience just in the last year.”
So are there any JustArsenal readers that still think Wenger should leave at the end of this campaign no matter what? One of the biggest complaints over the last few years has been that Wenger has not invested in the key positions that needed strengthening, but that has now been rectified this summer, so if we put up a strong fight but still only came second or third, would we still be happy with Wenger knowing that he did his very best? Or would we be calling for him to go yet again?
Sam P