PSG Reportedly Contact Arsene Wenger Amid Arsenal Exit Rumours
Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly made contact with Arsene Wenger about the 68-year-old succeeding Unai Emery as manager, amid rumours the Frenchman will leave Arsenal this summer.
A report from French source Le 10 Sport (h/t Tom Coast of Sport Witness, via Charles Watts of Football.London) revealed PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has renewed his interest in the Gunners boss, believing the time is right to finally get his man.
Coast cited Le 10 Sport reporting Al-Khelaifi has "'re-entered the fray'" for Wenger, a man Les Parisiens "have chased for many years," according to Watts.
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The future of Emery is also a factor, but Watts noted how the former Sevilla boss "could well be leaving Paris this summer having failed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals."
PSG lost 2-1 at home to holders Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg on Tuesday night. The result condemned Emery's men to a 5-2 aggregate defeat and early elimination from the competition Al-Khelaifi values most.
As defeat was confirmed at the Parc des Princes, James Horncastle of BT Sport succinctly summed up what it meant for the manager:
The sentiments of Watts and Horncastle were echoed by Goal's Robin Bairner, who described how a second-straight elimination at the last-16 stage puts Emery under threat:
"It would be unfair to dismiss him as an unmitigated failure—PSG's domestic dominance this season has been formidable, even accounting for their financial strength—but his failure to win a single Champions League knockout tie is damning enough for PSG to look elsewhere."
If PSG are going to make a change, they won't find a better time to convince Wenger to return to France. The former AS Monaco boss is facing mounting pressure at Arsenal since the Gunners lost the 2018 Carabao Cup final 3-0 to Manchester City.
Arsenal are now sixth in the Premier League and likely to miss out on Champions League football for a second season running. Wenger also hasn't won a league title since the Gunners completed an unbeaten domestic campaign in 2003/04.
Despite fierce criticism from the fans, as well as doubts at board level, Wenger has said he won't resign this summer, according to Matt Hughes of The Times.
However, he may change his mind if PSG make him feel wanted. Wenger has previously been courted by the mega-rich Ligue 1 giants, revealing there were "contacts with PSG" last summer in an interview with Telefoot (h/t Lee Astley of The Sun).
If Wenger reciprocates the interest this time, he would join a club with immense financial resources, a luxury he does't enjoy at Arsenal. He would also get the chance to work with young stars such as 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe and midfield playmaker Adrien Rabiot, 22.
Arsenal bid €100 million for Mbappe last summer, according to L'Equipe (h/t Bairner). The Gunners have also scouted Rabiot, per Get French Football News (h/t Metro's Tom Olver).
What Wenger lacks is a pedigree in European competitions. He has only reached one Champions League final, with Arsenal losing to Barcelona in Paris in 2006. It means he still has a point to prove in Europe's biggest club competition, something he's unlikely to achieve at Arsenal.
The chance to work for a club with PSG's spending power and star quality may be too good to resist for Wenger, as his reign in north London seems headed towards an increasingly ugly end.
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