Arsene Wenger's Arsenal Future Reportedly to Be Decided at End of the Season

Arsene Wenger's future as Arsenal manager will reportedly be decided at the end of the season, following the Gunners' 5-1 thrashing by Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg. 

According to BBC Sport's David Ornstein, there is "no prospect of Wenger leaving before the summer," and he has the offer of a new contract on the table—his current deal expires at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.

Ornstein added that the decision on whether the 67-year-old—in charge of Arsenal since 1996—will stay "will be mutual between the Frenchman and the club."

Though they still have the second leg to play at the Emirates Stadium on March 7, following Wednesday's humiliation, Arsenal look set to crash out of of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the seventh consecutive season—and for the third time to Bayern.

The reaction to Arsenal's defeat at the Allianz Arena was instant and inevitable, with Wenger's position being widely questioned by former players and pundits alike.

Former Gunner Martin Keown suggested the French manager has never been under more pressure, per BT Sport Football:

Meanwhile, the Mirror's John Cross indicated that Wenger is nearing the end of his time at Arsenal:

The Times' Henry Winter noted that the Arsenal hierarchy are not necessarily the best equipped to decide on who his successor should be when the time comes:

If Wenger does decide to bring his career to an end at the close of the season, he will be remembered as one of the greatest to manage in England, having won three Premier League titles and six FA Cups.

#	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	25	19	3	3	52	18	34	60
2	Manchester City	25	16	4	5	51	29	22	52
3	Tottenham Hotspur	25	14	8	3	46	18	28	50
4	Arsenal	25	15	5	5	54	28	26	50
5	Liverpool	25	14	7	4	54	30	24	49
6	Manchester United	25	13	9	3	38	21	17	48

However, his last league title was back in 2004, and Arsenal's challenge for 2016-17 is already effectively over as they are 10 points back from leaders Chelsea in fourth.

Given how close it is at the top of the Premier League, the Gunners could even fail to qualify for next season's Champions League, a fate that could also spell the end of Wenger's time at Arsenal.