Arsene Wenger like 'an uncle who doesn't want to leave the party' with his Arsenal contract limbo, says Chris Sutton

The former Chelsea striker launched a scathing assessment of the Arsenal manager

Jack de Menezes
Tuesday 21 March 2017 14:46 GMT
Comments
Arsene Wenger has been told to accept he is putting Arsenal in decline by Chris Sutton
Arsene Wenger has been told to accept he is putting Arsenal in decline by Chris Sutton (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Chris Sutton has likened Arsene Wenger to “an uncle who doesn’t want to leave the party” after the Arsenal manager edged closer towards signing a new contract, despite his side dropping to sixth in the Premier League table.

Wenger has already publicly confirmed that he has made up his mind on the contract extension that Arsenal have offered him, with a two-year deal on the table since the start of the year to take his reign beyond the 21-year mark. But Wenger has stalled on agreeing the deal, and in that time Arsenal have dropped from second to sixth in the Premier League, as well as exit the Champions League in a humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich.

Wenger said after the weekend’s 3-1 loss at West Bromwich Albion that he will reveal his decision “very soon”, but widespread reports have claimed that a new contract will be signed that will be longer than just the one year that was reported last week.

But former Chelsea striker Sutton launched a scathing assessment of Wenger, likening him to a dictator and calling on his to recognise that his team is in decline.

"It's a dictatorship and he surrounds himself with yes men," Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He's been selfish. I'm surprised Steve Bould [Wenger's assistant] doesn't get hold of him and say this is the reality.

"He's taking the club backwards. They have just accepted mediocrity. His work in the transfer market has been a failure lately.

"Do the right thing and if you're not going to do the right thing then tell us."

Arsenal fans have been open in their desire to see Wenger leave the club
Arsenal fans have been open in their desire to see Wenger leave the club (Getty)

Wenger has also been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, with the Ligue 1 side reported to be targeting the Frenchman if he decides to leave Arsenal at the end of the season when his deal expires. A report emerged on Tuesday morning that the reigning French champions had offered Wenger a contract, but he spoke publicly soon after to dismiss the story and labelled it “fake news”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in