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Arsenal Analysis: The Five Reasons Why Arsene Wenger Has Not Yet Signed A New Contract
Manager entering final year of current deal but negotiations likely to drag
21-Apr-2010 2:30:00 PM
Wayne Veysey
With his Arsenal contract due to expire on June 30 next summer, there are question marks over the long-term future of Arsene Wenger.
Although the Frenchman has promised to honour the year remaining on his current deal, he has refused to be drawn into his plans when the 2010-11 season ends.
It is understood that chief executive Ivan Gazidis will sit down this summer with Wenger and his advisers to discuss extending the manager’s reign by another three years until 2014.
However, sources close to the board say negotiations are likely to be complicated by a number of factors.
Goal.com UK explores the five main reasons why the Arsenal manager has not put pen to paper and why it could be some time before he does.
1. Danny Fiszman’s health
Arsenal’s most influential director is suffering from throat cancer and is currently undergoing extensive medical treatment. It is understood that the multi-millionaire diamond trader, who owns 16.1 per cent of the club, has taken a backseat at the club in recent weeks. He did not attend the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona in the Nou Camp.
Despite his low-key public image, Fiszman has been pulling the strings at Arsenal for over a decade and the relationship between Wenger and Fiszman is said by insiders to be the most important in the boardroom. It was following a private dinner in June 2008 that the pair shook hands on an agreement that Wenger would sign a new contract, even though it would be four months before he did.
2. Wenger’s hesitance
Wenger has admitted that the end of his current contract will be a “serious check-point” in his career. While Arsenal’s longest-serving manager has insisted he is totally committed to the project that has become his life’s work, sources close to the Frenchman - who is 61 in October - say he will “wait and see” how this season finishes and consider whether he believes his squad can become serious title challengers before committing himself to effectively finishing his career at Emirates Stadium.
If he extended his contract to 2014, he would have been at the club a remarkable 18 years, which takes him into Sir Alex Ferguson-Manchester United territory.
3. Boardroom uncertainty
The ownership of the club is in a state of upheaval. The long-running saga, which began in April 2007 when American billionaire Stan Kroenke bought ITV’s 9.99 per cent stake in Arsenal, took a new twist last week when it emerged that former director Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who owns 15.9 per cent of the club, has hired investment bankers Blackstone to scour the market for potential buyers.
The current board, made up of chairman Peter Hill-Wood, chief executive Gazidis and directors Fiszman, Ken Friar, Sir Chips Keswick, Lord Harris of Peckham and Kroenke, are understood to be keen to keep a manager whose team fills out Emirates Stadium every other week and has consistently reached the last eight of the Champions League on a budget that is dwarfed by their major rivals.
Yet the situation could soon be very different if there is a dramatic change of ownership this summer. Kroenke (29.9 per cent) and Alisher Usmanov (26 per cent) have not declared their hand on the manager’s future, although well-placed sources suggest that Uzbek billionaire Usmanov would be more likely to bring in his own man.
4. Alternative offers
Armed with one of world football management’s best CVs and a reputation for fantasy football, Wenger could almost name his job.
Real Madrid have courted Wenger in the past – and did so again last summer – but the Frenchman’s strident comments in his Friday press briefing last week about the lack of competition in the Primera Division would appear to rule out Spain as his next destination.
Most leading clubs on the continent would be interested in Wenger, even if his age would rule out a long-term position. A coaching job for a national team (Wenger has excellent contacts in Africa) cannot be ruled out and nor can a director of football, or even a presidential role. This should all help the Frenchman’s bargaining power.
Wenger is represented by the agent Leon Angel and, according to one insider, has “a keen sense of his own worth”. The manager is currently believed to be the second highest paid individual at Arsenal - after Cesc Fabregas - on a contract worth £78,000-a-week. Nevertheless, his salary is eclipsed by the likes of Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Ferguson, Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti, Guus Hiddink and Louis van Gaal.
Perez power | Madrid president wants Wenger at the Bernabeu
5. Crowded schedules
Wenger has said that he will not talk to the club about a new deal until the season finishes, but it is World Cup year and there is a relatively small window.
When the campaign ends, Wenger will tidy up his paperwork and take a short break - he usually goes to a health spa in Italy or France - before travelling to South Africa for the World Cup, where he is expected to work as a summariser for French television and no doubt scout potential transfer targets.
When the month-long jamboree finishes, Arsenal will begin their pre-season preparations. It could be the autumn before any deal is sealed.
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Although the Frenchman has promised to honour the year remaining on his current deal, he has refused to be drawn into his plans when the 2010-11 season ends.
It is understood that chief executive Ivan Gazidis will sit down this summer with Wenger and his advisers to discuss extending the manager’s reign by another three years until 2014.
However, sources close to the board say negotiations are likely to be complicated by a number of factors.
Goal.com UK explores the five main reasons why the Arsenal manager has not put pen to paper and why it could be some time before he does.
1. Danny Fiszman’s health
Arsenal’s most influential director is suffering from throat cancer and is currently undergoing extensive medical treatment. It is understood that the multi-millionaire diamond trader, who owns 16.1 per cent of the club, has taken a backseat at the club in recent weeks. He did not attend the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona in the Nou Camp.
Despite his low-key public image, Fiszman has been pulling the strings at Arsenal for over a decade and the relationship between Wenger and Fiszman is said by insiders to be the most important in the boardroom. It was following a private dinner in June 2008 that the pair shook hands on an agreement that Wenger would sign a new contract, even though it would be four months before he did.
2. Wenger’s hesitance
Wenger has admitted that the end of his current contract will be a “serious check-point” in his career. While Arsenal’s longest-serving manager has insisted he is totally committed to the project that has become his life’s work, sources close to the Frenchman - who is 61 in October - say he will “wait and see” how this season finishes and consider whether he believes his squad can become serious title challengers before committing himself to effectively finishing his career at Emirates Stadium.
If he extended his contract to 2014, he would have been at the club a remarkable 18 years, which takes him into Sir Alex Ferguson-Manchester United territory.
3. Boardroom uncertaintyThe ownership of the club is in a state of upheaval. The long-running saga, which began in April 2007 when American billionaire Stan Kroenke bought ITV’s 9.99 per cent stake in Arsenal, took a new twist last week when it emerged that former director Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who owns 15.9 per cent of the club, has hired investment bankers Blackstone to scour the market for potential buyers.
The current board, made up of chairman Peter Hill-Wood, chief executive Gazidis and directors Fiszman, Ken Friar, Sir Chips Keswick, Lord Harris of Peckham and Kroenke, are understood to be keen to keep a manager whose team fills out Emirates Stadium every other week and has consistently reached the last eight of the Champions League on a budget that is dwarfed by their major rivals.
Yet the situation could soon be very different if there is a dramatic change of ownership this summer. Kroenke (29.9 per cent) and Alisher Usmanov (26 per cent) have not declared their hand on the manager’s future, although well-placed sources suggest that Uzbek billionaire Usmanov would be more likely to bring in his own man.
4. Alternative offers
Armed with one of world football management’s best CVs and a reputation for fantasy football, Wenger could almost name his job.
Real Madrid have courted Wenger in the past – and did so again last summer – but the Frenchman’s strident comments in his Friday press briefing last week about the lack of competition in the Primera Division would appear to rule out Spain as his next destination.
Most leading clubs on the continent would be interested in Wenger, even if his age would rule out a long-term position. A coaching job for a national team (Wenger has excellent contacts in Africa) cannot be ruled out and nor can a director of football, or even a presidential role. This should all help the Frenchman’s bargaining power.
Wenger is represented by the agent Leon Angel and, according to one insider, has “a keen sense of his own worth”. The manager is currently believed to be the second highest paid individual at Arsenal - after Cesc Fabregas - on a contract worth £78,000-a-week. Nevertheless, his salary is eclipsed by the likes of Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Ferguson, Roberto Mancini, Carlo Ancelotti, Guus Hiddink and Louis van Gaal.
Perez power | Madrid president wants Wenger at the Bernabeu
5. Crowded schedules
Wenger has said that he will not talk to the club about a new deal until the season finishes, but it is World Cup year and there is a relatively small window.
When the campaign ends, Wenger will tidy up his paperwork and take a short break - he usually goes to a health spa in Italy or France - before travelling to South Africa for the World Cup, where he is expected to work as a summariser for French television and no doubt scout potential transfer targets.
When the month-long jamboree finishes, Arsenal will begin their pre-season preparations. It could be the autumn before any deal is sealed.
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