England Interest in Arsene Wenger Is Not Enough to Warrant New Arsenal Contract

England are out of Euro 2016, humiliated by their round-of-16 defeat to Iceland on Monday. The postmortem has begun, with the biggest question mark surrounding just who will replace Roy Hodgson at the helm of the national team.

It’s no great surprise to see Arsene Wenger’s name in the mix—he is invariably mentioned when talk turns to potential England coaches. What will be interesting to see is how Arsenal respond to the link.

Ordinarily, such a story might prompt a club to reward their manager with a new contract. However, Wenger is in no ordinary position at Arsenal. 

It’s easy to see why the FA are intrigued by the possibility of recruiting Wenger. The Frenchman has a wealth of experience in English football. He’s also capable of imposing a trademark style of play upon the England team—something they seemed to be painfully lacking in this summer’s tournament.

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The FA’s technical director, Dan Ashworth, is on record as being an admirer of Wenger. According to Dominic Fifield of the Guardian, he recently said: "Has Arsene got a fantastic understanding of the Premier League, of English players, of the English media, of the expectations of England? Absolutely. So would you rule him out? Probably not."

When England appointed Hodgson, it seemed the FA was making a move back to domestic coaches after the reigns of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. However, there is a real lack of obvious candidates. Few English coaches are flourishing in the Premier League, which may force Ashworth and Co. to consider a foreign manager.

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Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who has worked with Wenger at close quarters for many years, seems in little doubt as to whether the Gunners boss could make a success of the England job, per Simon Mullock of the Mirror:

"

I am sure Arsene Wenger would be a great thing for England, but my main interest is Arsenal Football Club and I hope it doesn't happen.

I say that for the sake of Arsenal not for the sake of England. Obviously England had a disappointing time at Euro 2016 and changes will be made, but hopefully that will not affect our club.

I hope it is something that will not happen because he is doing a fantastic job at Arsenal and I'd love to see him stay there.

"

Wenger seems certain to stay this summer. He has a year remaining on his contract and has never once broken an agreement in his managerial career.

However, that doesn’t necessarily rule him out as a long-term option. The FA could appoint an interim coach such as current U21 boss Gareth Southgate to tide the team over until a new man takes over in 2017. The focus will be on the 2018 World Cup, and if that means waiting to get the right man, the FA may be prepared to be patient.

It may still find Wenger an unwilling interviewee, though. Back in 2011, he made it plain he feels the manager of the national team should be English. Wenger told the Mirror (h/t Jake Watson of Goal):

"

I always said the national team needs an English manager and I will never change that [view] for one minute. 

If a foreigner wins a European Championship, you will say somewhere it is not completely an English triumph.

"

It would be up to the FA to find out whether "never" does mean never for Wenger.

As yet, there has been no official response from Arsenal to these rumours. The Gunners’ chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, certainly has a foot in the Football Association camp as a member of the FA Council, but there has been no statement on Wenger’s future. 

That’s because his plans remain a mystery.

Next season is the final one of Wenger’s contract. According to Amy Lawrence of the Guardian, he plans to wait until “very late” in the 2016/17 campaign before deciding whether he will stay on at the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger insists the uncertainty will not affect his commitment, saying: "My appetite is stronger than ever. ... Even if I decide in January that I will not extend my contract, that will not affect my attitude."

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However, Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail claimed Arsenal could try to accelerate those negotiations to ward off the FA’s interest. It would be a surprise if that came to pass—a new contract now does not particularly suit either Arsenal or Wenger.

There are those who might suggest that uncertainty about a manager’s future can prove an obstacle in the transfer market. That’s a difficult argument to support, especially when it was in 2013, 12 months from the expiration of his last Arsenal contract, that Wenger convinced Mesut Ozil to leave Real Madrid for north London.

This would be a tricky time for Gazidis to open talks with the manager. Despite the regular praise Wenger receives from disciples such as Szczesny, he has become a divisive figure among the Arsenal fans.

Although their final-day leapfrog above Tottenham Hotspur allowed Gunners supporters to finish the season on a relative high, it should not be forgotten that many of the final weeks of the season were marred by protests and infighting over Wenger’s management of the club.

Even if the Gazidis and the board are content with Wenger’s performance, they won’t want to anger an irritable fanbase by handing out what many would deem an unnecessarily early extension.

For many supporters, Wenger still has something to prove in order to warrant a new deal. To earn a new contract, he must first show he has what it takes to make Arsenal truly competitive—not simply be the subject of some speculation about another job.

No one will know that more than Wenger himself. In recent seasons, he has appeared somewhat weary, and as much as he may talk up his enduring “appetite,” he will not want to sign an extension in a climate of skepticism. 

The likelihood is the FA would have to join Arsenal in waiting to discover Wenger’s intentions—and much of that will depend on Arsenal’s fortunes next season. So it should be. Irrespective of England’s supposed interest, there’s no reason to give Wenger a new contract right away.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and follows the club from a London base. Follow him on Twitter here.