Arsene Wenger might have had one of the worst seasons in his 21 year career as the manager of English Premier League giants Arsenal, but the club has reposed its faith in him by handing him a new 2 year contract today. The Frenchman had been under pressure throughout the season but the FA Cup win against champions Chelsea might have titled the scales in his favour.
A vote of confidence
The 2016-17 season has been a forgettable one for the club and the manager for a variety of reasons. The league challenge collapsed in December and then Wenger oversaw a series of embarrassing defeats, including a 10-2 aggregate thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich.
There were widespread protests organised by fan groups and the atmosphere in the stands turned toxic as the results kept getting worse. However, Arsenal's billionaire owner Stan Kroenke feels that he is still the best man for the job and signed off on a two year contract, following a summit meeting at the Emirates Stadium yesterday. In a statement released by the club, the American billionaire stated: - “Our ambition is to win the Premier League and other major trophies in Europe. It’s what the fans, players, staff, manager and board expect and we won’t rest until that is achieved. Arsène is the best person to help us make that happen."
So what's next?
Arsenal's CEO Ivan Gazidiz had earlier said that the failures of the 2016-17 season would be a 'catalyst for change' at the club and it remains to be seen what structural changes take place before the new season starts.
However, the statement did add that the CEO along with the manager had reviewed the happenings of the season and are aware of the changes that need to be made in order to make the club a force in the Premier League once again. Now that the contract for the manager has been sorted out, the club would now have to tie up the contracts of their best players, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
Additionally, they would also need to recruit smartly in order to ensure that the club is able to compete throughout the duration of the season on all fronts. Kroenke has assured the manager that he will have the club's full backing. Wenger changed the formation in the latter part of the season and played 3 defenders instead of the usual 4.
The change improved performances markedly and culminated in FA Cup triumph. However, pundits believe that it is unlikely that Wenger would be able to lift the Premier League trophy in the next two years considering the sort of managerial talent that he would be competing with.
