West Bromwich Albion’s English, defender Craig Dawson (second left), heads to score past Arsenal’s Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech during the Premiership match at The Hawthorns stadium in West Bromwich, yesterday.PHOTO: AFP
Arsene Wenger has said he will announce his plans “very soon” after reaching a decision about his future as Arsenal manager.Wenger would not confirm what that decision was but the Frenchman is under increasing pressure with Arsenal’s season on the brink of collapse after six defeats in the last nine matches in all competitions.
The Gunners lost again yesterday, a 3-1 defeat at West Brom leaving them in fifth place in the Premier League and five points adrift of the Champions League qualification spots.
It led to Wenger being asked questions again regarding his future – with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.“I know what I will do so you will know very soon. You will see,” said Wenger.
“Today I do not worry about that.”Wenger had previously said that he had yet to decide what he would do, with the offer of a new two-year contract on the table.
The 67-year-old, who has been in charge of Arsenal since 1996, continues to divide opinion among the club’s supporters. Anti-Wenger fans flew a plane over The Hawthorns trailing a banner asking him to leave while another later proclaimed “In Arsene We Trust #RESPECTAW”.
“I watch the game, I do not watch the stands,” said Wenger.“I believe we have to deal with that and you focus on your job, no matter what people think.”
Asked if he felt making his intentions public might help change the atmosphere among supporters, he replied: “I don’t know. We are in a unique bad patch like we’ve never had in 20 years where we lose game after game at the moment and that is much more important than my future.”
The Arsenal boss, who insisted that he had not informed anyone at the club of his decision, does not necessarily think the uncertainty surrounding his future is impacting on his players.
“I don’t know about that,” said Wenger.“In this job it is like having a problem with your engine, there are problems but you have to find the most important one.“The most important one today was that we had 77 per cent of possession and didn’t create many chances. We have to focus on that.”
Source: G Sport
