Arsene Wenger’s future at Arsenal continues to come under intense speculation and a final verdict on the long-serving Frenchman’s tenure is imminent, with a final decision to be made after this weekend’s FA Cup final clash with Chelsea.
The Gunners enter the showcase final on the back of a disappointing Premier League campaign, which concluded at the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Everton that wasn’t enough to seal a top-four finish; meaning Arsenal will be absent from the Champions League for the first time in two decades.
That slip out of the Champions League spots comes despite Arsenal achieving a higher points tally this year than they did last season, where the Gunners finished second, and Wenger’s side can be deemed to be unfortunate as the points tally achieved would have been enough to secure a Champions League spot in 20 of the last 22 seasons.
However, Arsenal’s shortcomings have led to widespread criticism from fans and pundits alike, with former Gunners defender Paul Merson being the latest man to drive the knife into the Arsenal boss as he called Wenger’s tactical ability into dispute.
‘If they keep Wenger, I don’t see them getting close to the top. I just think tactically Wenger has lost it.’
‘Sometimes you’ve got to play games like horses for courses. (Jose) Mourinho goes to places, sets up and makes sure they don’t get beat, Wenger does not play that game. He opens the game up and says: “You have a shot, we have a shot, best team wins.”
‘That doesn’t work anymore. It’s alright when you’ve got Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Ljungberg, Overmars, Petit, Sol Campbell, Vieira, Lauren… saying: “You have a shot, we have a shot” is alright then, they’ll rip anybody to shreds! But not this team.’
Merson’s comments will have a lot of supporters but Wenger deserves credit for the turnaround in recent weeks, with the Gunners impressing since switching to a three-man defence; a formation which has seen the best from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil and others.
The willingness to adapt so late in the season deserves credit and, in truth, Arsenal’s campaign isn’t as bad as the media is trying to make out- as the Gunners still have a chance of lifting their third FA Cup in four seasons this weekend.
On top of that, Arsenal showed improvements this season via their points tally and have proven they can go toe-to-toe with England’s best on their day, having beaten the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City this term.
It’s clear the squad does need improving though with a left-back and a striker likely to be top of the Gunners’ wish-list, as they look to contend for honours next season.