Should Arsenal sack Arsene Wenger if Leicester or Tottenham win the title?

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A lot has been spoken about the pending managerial change at Manchester City and the potential change at Manchester United, but with Arsenal floundering at the moment, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson questioned whether Arsene Wenger deserved to be in a job if Arsenal were beaten to the title by Leicester City or Tottenham Hotspur. So, should Arsene Wenger be nervously looking over his shoulder?

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This Premier League season has been incredibly unpredictable and with the likes of Chelsea, Man City, Man United and Liverpool having poor seasons, this was a real chance for the Gunners to win their first title since 2004. With the biggest sides really struggling, smaller clubs such as Tottenham, Leicester and West Ham have really excelled with Tottenham and Leicester battling for the title and West Ham in with a real chance of qualifying for the Champions League. The Gunners have a good record against the current top four with two wins against surprise leaders Leicester, a couple of draws against North London rivals Tottenham and a win in the solitary meeting against Man City. At times, the North Londoners have played like champions, but their season has been plagued with inconsistency and just two weeks after closing the gap to Leicester to only a couple of points, they are now a vast eight back.

On paper, the London giants are the third best side in the league, but with Chelsea having an embarrassing season and Man City struggling for consistency, Arsenal fans would have been licking their lips. After pulling away from City, they have been pegged back after just a solitary point from their last three games (one of which should have been a very comfortable home win against relegation threatened Swansea). With City seemingly through in the Champions League and already out of the FA Cup, they only have to concentrate on the league for the next few weeks, whilst Arsenal face a make or break week with a trio of matches in three competitions in the next week that could lead to their season being over.

The run starts with the hastily scheduled home FA Cup quarter-final against Watford, followed by a mid-week away Champions League tie in Barcelona as they look to turn around a 2-0 deficit. Their killer week ends with an away Premier League match at a very hit and miss Everton side, as Arsenal look to record their first Premier League win in four attempts. When they take on Everton next Saturday lunch-time, they could already find themselves 11 points behind the Foxes, six behind Spurs and one behind Man City, with all three out of the FA Cup. Arsenal will of course have a game in hand, apart from Man City who currently have a game in hand themselves after having a game postponed because of their Capital Cup Final commitments, but with the gaps potentially so large and the season so unpredictable, points on the board are vital.

A lot of the criticism will be shared between misfiring striker Olivier Giroud, winger Alexis Sanchez, and centre-backs Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, but it is unfair to blame just a small handful of players with most players in the squad guilty of very poor performances. In fact, the season could be a lot worse for Arsenal if it wasn’t for the performances of goalkeeper Petr Cech, who on the whole has been a very good signing, and assist king Mesut Özil, who has created a staggering 18 league and has also chipped in with five strikes of his own.

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Whilst some of the performances from players have been really poor, it is some of the team selections and most notably the lack of action in either transfer window that has been truly staggering and has crippled the Gunners somewhat. The news that Arsenal are sitting on cash reserves of over £150 million will not help the anger of fans who believe that the signing of just two players; one of which isn’t a first team regular, just isn’t good enough. After targetting William Carvalho for so long, it is mind-blowing to think that he was ignored because Wenger was happy with Francis Coquelin. Coquelin has proven that he can be a top player in the last 15 months or so, but he showed his naivety with his reckless tackle on Harry Kane in last weekend’s North London Derby which nearly lost them a game that they were controlling, although they eventually had to settle for a hard earned draw.

In conclusion, Arsenal’s season just hasn’t been good enough, with them set to exit the Champions League at the Last 16 Stage for the 5th year in a row and struggling in the league. Whilst an FA Cup win has been seen as good enough in the last couple of seasons, it is no longer good enough for a side of Arsenal’s stature and if they do fall short in their pursuit of the Premier League title, they should look at relieving Arsene Wenger of his duties. Another worry for Arsenal fans is the potential departures of Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin and Wenger only has his self to blame for his team not capitalising on slip-ups from the other big sides in England. This could well be the end of an era as Arsenal potentially embark on their first managerial search for 20 years.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Ronnie Macdonald