Account
Arsene Wenger Denies PSG Offered Him a 2-Year Deal Amid Arsenal Exit Rumours
March 21, 2017
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has denied reports he has been offered a two-year deal to take over from Paris Saint-Germain boss Unai Emery at the club in the summer.
Sky Sports' Kaveh Solhekol reported Wenger had rejected the speculation:
According to an exclusive from The Sun's Fred Nathan, PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi is confident Wenger can do a better job than former Sevilla manager Emery and has offered him a two-year contract.
Les Parisiens, who have won Ligue 1 at a canter for the last four seasons running, are second in the table amid a fierce title race with AS Monaco and Nice, while they crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Barcelona as they capitulated from 4-0 up in the tie to lose 6-5 on aggregate.
Wenger is in the final year of his Arsenal contract, and after overseeing a 3-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, announced he had made a decision on his future and would reveal it "very soon," per BBC Sport.
Bleacher Report UK's James McNicholas believes the Frenchman leaving would be the best option for the club:
Meanwhile, football journalist Rafael Hernandez believes PSG to be a realistic destination for Wenger:
The Ligue 1 side are undoubtedly of a calibre befitting a manager of his success and achievements, though it might in fact be a slightly strange move given Wenger's philosophies appear to clash with the club's.
PSG were bought by Qatar Sports Investments group in 2011 and proceeded to splash the cash on star players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria to name but a few, somewhat reminiscent of Manchester City's spending after they were taken over.
The high level of spending is what allowed the club to dominate French football in the intervening years.
Wenger has repeatedly shown himself to be reluctant to buy expensive, marquee players, however, with purchases of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Granit Xhaka in recent years proving to be outliers rather than par for the course.
Per the Guardian's Amy Lawrence, the 67-year-old has in the past attempted to defend his activities in the transfer market by arguing "it is not a shortage of money," but rather a "shortage of players" that has prevented him from recruiting top players to help them challenge for the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.
However, star players are making big-money moves to elite clubs every summer, which would indicate it is in fact a matter of being prepared to spend—as such, Wenger wouldn't appear to be a natural fit at PSG.
It may be moot anyway if Wenger opts to stay put at the Emirates Stadium, which the Mirror's John Cross believes he will:
The Frenchman has been in charge for 21 years and despite some supporters protesting for him to leave amid another failed campaign, he might equally want to leave on a high and as a result decide to stay on for another year or two.
Arsenal also appear to have little prepared in the way of succession for Wenger, so while a change is needed they can ill afford to make the wrong appointment, like Manchester United did when they brought in David Moyes to replace Sir Alex Ferguson.
If Wenger staying a little longer can help them avoid that, it might even prove to be a blessing in disguise.