Tuesday 14 March 2017 15:53, UK
The focus has been on Arsenal needing to move on. But why would Arsene Wenger stay? Adam Bate on the questions that should really be worrying Arsenal supporters now…
Talk of what is right for Arsenal and their fans has been the thrust of it so far. Is Arsene Wenger the man to take the club forward? Is it time for us to move on? Manager catalogues are being perused and the merits of Thomas Tuchel and Massimiliano Allegri assessed.
But the fact that Wenger appears closer than ever to the exit should be a worry too. Not for the reasons some suspect, although naturally the transition could prove problematic. It's not even that a successor will not be able to reinvigorate the team and bring better ideas.
No, perhaps the bigger concern even for those supporters determined to oust their long-serving manager should be exactly why he has not confirmed his intention to agree a two-year extension at the Emirates Stadium. Is even Wenger wondering whether this job can have a glorious ending?
He is adamant that he is not jaded, after all. Wenger has been clear that he intends to continue in management, even suggesting that he could go on for another four years. The supporter protest will be a factor in his thinking but not the main one, he insists.
So the main reason for his decision is likely to be how he sees the team's medium-term future. "I think this club is in great shape," he said after the Champions League elimination. But is even Wenger wondering whether things will get worse before they get better?
It is difficult to conceive of a top-level coach who could have shown greater commitment to nurturing talent. That faith is often rewarded, such as when Aaron Ramsey was named Arsenal's player of the year or Laurent Koscielny established himself as a top-class defender.
However, faith by its nature involves an element of risk. While he would never admit it publicly, is it possible that Wenger might eventually reach the same verdict as that of many supporters - that this is a group of players unlikely ever to make the next step.
Look around the pitch during the Bayern Munich tie and that conclusion was a difficult one to miss. The German side boasted 11 top-class players in the line-up at any one time, with the likes of Thomas Muller and Douglas Costa coming off the bench to score.
In contrast, the Gunners had far too many key figures who are likely to forever fall short. The only debate regarding Bayern's players is whether or not they would make a world XI. The issue with the Arsenal players is whether or not they are even Arsenal class.
The sight of Kieran Gibbs as captain in the second half of the first leg summed it up. He is 27 now and has been an England international for seven years. On the face of it, that would make him an obvious choice. But the contrast with Philipp Lahm on that flank was damning.
Others noted Francis Coquelin struggling to put out fires in midfield. The uncapped Frenchman turns 26 in May and there are suggestions that the chance to acquire N'Golo Kante was eschewed for fear of hindering his development. That already looks a huge error.
Hector Bellerin is a safer bet to become a star and there's hope for Alex Iwobi. But Petr Cech is 34 and it could be argued that the only real top-class players are 32-year-old Santi Cazorla, 31-year-old Koscielny and the much-discussed duo of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
Wenger has been battling to convince the pair to stay but Ozil's alarming dip in form has added urgency to the need to keep Sanchez at precisely the time when the Chilean appears to have convinced himself of the need to move on. A massive rebuilding job looms.
If the prospect of losing the best player is dispiriting for fans and team-mates, how must it feel for Wenger, even if he would be regarded as the man most culpable in Sanchez's desire to move? One of the few figures who looks capable of taking the club forward wants out.
And not to Barcelona as has been customary. He has already left there. But perhaps to Paris Saint-Germain or Juventus. It's a clue as to Arsenal's current standing within the European game in 2017, despite their impressive stadium and their undoubted financial capabilities.
The irony, of course, is that the man so many blame for Arsenal's stasis could even head to Paris himself. PSG are a club that has long coveted him and could well be looking for a new coach in the summer following their own Champions League capitulation under Unai Emery.
Where would that leave Arsenal fans who wanted Wenger out? Still excited for the future presumably, and hoping that a new man brings new ideas. But one nagging doubt is worth retaining. If even Wenger is losing belief in what this team can do, perhaps it really is the time to be worried.
