Arsene Wenger Contract: Latest News, Rumours, Speculation on Arsenal Manager

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's current deal expires at the end of next season, prompting speculation over his future at the Emirates Stadium. 

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Wenger Uncertain of Arsenal Future

Friday, May 13

According to the Evening Standard's James Olley, "Wenger says he hasn't decided whether to stay beyond 2017 and says performance next season will determine what happens." Per Olley, he also rejected a report that he will be offered a new deal at the club: "That is completely wrong. I don't know where it comes from. You can treat that as an invention."

The rumour came from an exclusive from Matt Hughes and Matt Dickinson of the Times, who reported a two-year deal will be offered "at the start of next season" if the club get their campaign off to a good start.

Majority shareholder Stan Kroenke was believed to have prepared the contract and if Arsenal started strongly "the club will urge Wenger to sign promptly." 

A new deal before the end of next season would surely cause controversy among many Gunners fans, as the boss has come under yet more pressure and calls for his head this year.

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Arsenal have again failed to sustain a challenge for the Premier League title—which was won by the odds-defying Leicester City—and exited the UEFA Champions League at the round-of-16 stage for the sixth successive year. Not to mention, they could finish behind rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the first time since Wenger took charge.

Alan Brazil of TalkSport noted the report could anger the Emirates Stadium faithful if true. One of Wenger's biggest failings in recent years is his significant business in the transfer market.

While the captures of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Petr Cech have all been excellent strides toward becoming challengers once again, he has repeatedly failed to address gaping holes in the squad.

Per the Mirror's Jacob Murtagh, Wenger defended Arsenal's failure to sign a single outfield player last summer: "It’s not the money that’s missing at the moment, it’s not the desire of investment that is missing, it’s the number of players available who can strengthen the big clubs. The problem at the moment is finding the players that guarantees you are a better team after."

However, the 66-year-old's own admissions this season that he was well aware of Leicester's N'Golo Kante and West Ham United's Dimitri Payet—both of whom made it into the Professional Footballers' Association Premier League Team of the Year—but did not sign them reveals the flaws in the club's transfer policy.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

However, there are plenty of Arsenal fans who might welcome a new contract. Per BreatheSport, Wenger has helped turn the Gunners into perennial top-four finishers where before it was something of a rarity, while he has enjoyed vocal support in recent weeks, according to Kevin Palmer of the Sunday World and Olley.

As for the timing of the new deal, waiting until October would have seemed a strange decision from the powers that be at the Emirates.

Neither the Premier League nor the Champions League—the benchmarks by which Arsenal's season must ultimately be judged—are won or lost by then, so even an excellent start means relatively little as it is far from guaranteed they will sustain it right through the season.

The Gunners should already be weighing up their options for replacing Wenger if next season is to be his last, and like the Frenchman himself, they should wait until the end of the campaign to see if he has been able to rectify the issues that have plagued the club in recent years before offering a new deal.