Three reasons why this must be Arsene Wenger’s final season at Arsenal

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Questionable decision-making

Arsene Wenger has claimed that the reason for Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Mesut Ozil’s exclusion from Sunday’s game is due to their exertions at Euro 2016. This becomes questionable when you see someone like Bacary Sagna being included in Pep Guardiola’s opening day home victory for Manchester City against Sunderland. The former Arsenal right-back played every single minute of every France match at Euro 2016,

Wenger’s decision, especially in the case of Koscielny, was baffling. Hindsight is a wonderful tool. You can maybe understand the rest given if, Arsenal had Per Mertesacker and/or Gabriel available. However, as soon as they become unavailable, surely it falls upon the French head coach to change their pre-season preparation. Koscielny had already gone 35 days without kicking a ball in anger, surely that is enough time to re-cooperate.

Arsene Wenger also claimed his players “were not ready”. Is that a good enough excuse? Wenger is a man who is comforted by his £8 million a year salary and should not be in a position to simply disregard something that falls well within his remit as Arsenal manager. It boils down to, who does Wenger really answer to? When you get to hire your own superiors then what boss is really going to challenge your authority?

The Arsenal captaincy has also been a contentious issue in recent weeks. It was announced on Saturday that German central defender Per Mertesacker would take on the role previously held by former team-mate Mikel Arteta, now part of Manchester City’s coaching staff. Ok, fair enough. He has been vice-captain, so it is just a promotion.

However, judging by Wenger’s comments on Arsenal player it gives the impression there is once again no real plan. Nothing is set in stone. He confirmed that one of “the assistants” will take on the responsibility in Mertesacker’s absence. Petr Cech wore the armband on Sunday. The keeper would be the choice of many fans if social media is reflective of fan base opinion. Other names mentioned have been Laurent Koscielny, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey.