Arsenal: We Have to Win to Every Game to Secure A Chance in Top Four – Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has warned his Arsenal players they can afford no further slip-ups if they are to secure yet another top-four Premier League finish.The Gunners cut the gap to Manchester City to seven points with a 2-1 victory at Middlesbrough on Monday evening and although they have a game in hand, their manager knows there is no margin for error.Wenger said: “For us, the clarity is there – we have to win every game to have a chance to get in the top four, starting tonight.“I think it will make the team a bit more serene. You could see that on some occasions, we were a bit over-cautious tonight. Hopefully that will give us a bit more confidence.“Mathematically it is still possible, even if it is difficult, but we have to give it a go.”
The win on Teesside was secured by Mesut Ozil’s 71st-minute winner, but it proved to be far from plain-sailing at the Riverside Stadium.Alexis Sanchez’s expertly-dispatched 42nd-minute free-kick had given the visitors the lead at the end of a tight first half, but Alvaro Negredo dragged Boro back into it five minutes after the restart and had Petr Cech not kept out Daniel Ayala’s close-range header 11 minutes later, the outcome might have been very different.

Arsenal Defeat By Crystal Palace is a ‘big worry’ – Wenger

Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Arsenal was “a big worry” for him, but said the pressure is no different from what he’s used to.Monday’s loss marked Arsenal’s fourth straight away from home in the Premier League — a feat unprecedented in Wenger’s two decades in charge“Every defeat is a big worry. I’ve managed over 1,100 games for Arsenal and we’re not used to that,” Wenger told Sky Sports. “It’s a big worry. Unfortunately it is like that and we have to respond very quickly and not accept it.“I’m disappointed and determined to put things right. Tonight the worry is not me, it’s the fact we lost a big game and that’s a big worry.”Wenger said Arsenal had chances to score but was less impressed and conceded his players were often second-best in many “decisive duels.”“We lost too many duels and we paid for that,” he told the BBC. “There is no obvious reason why. We prepared and everyone prepared well. It’s difficult to explain just after the game.“I don’t think my players didn’t want it, but we lost duels in decisive moments and that’s how games are decided at this level.”Arsenal fans, already angry with Wenger, turned on the players by chanting “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” at Selhurst Park, and the manager said he understood the supporters’ frustrations.“I understand our fans are disappointed and we all are deeply tonight,” Wenger. It’s very worrying and disappointing the way we lost the game. Palace were sharp, they beat Chelsea the other day, and that shows they have quality.“We are in a difficult position. The game tonight doesn’t help.”Arsenal remained seven points back of the fourth-placed Manchester City, but Wenger said the result didn’t change his thoughts on his still-to-be-determined future plans.“I face it in every press conference at the moment but tonight I’m not in the mood to speak about it,” he said. At the moment I pay more respect to the fact we had a disappointing result. What counts is how we perform on the pitch, the players and myself and I feel everyone is focused in the club to do it.”And asked if uncertainty about his future is affecting the Arsenal players, Wenger said: “No, I don’t think so.”

PSG Never Offered Me Any Contract, It’s ‘fake news’ – Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger dismissed as “fake news” reports that Paris Saint-Germain had offered him a two-year deal at the French champions.The Frenchman is facing a fan backlash at Arsenal after a rotten run of form and British tabloid The Sun said on Monday that PSG had offered him a contract to replace Unai Emery this summer.Wenger, who has reportedly decided to stay at Arsenal despite mounting pressure to quit, told beIN Sports of the PSG link: “It’s a false rumour, it’s ‘fake news’. I say formally: it is not true.”Following a damaging 3-1 loss at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, Arsenal’s fourth defeat in five Premier League games, the 67-year-old said he had made up his mind about his future.“I know what I’ll do in my future, so you will know very soon,” he told reporters.British media subsequently said Wenger, who has been in charge at Arsenal since 1996, was set to sign a new contract.

Arsene Wenger Reportedly Ready to Sign Two-year Arsenal Contract Extension

Arsene Wenger seems poised to extend his managerial career at Arsenal, according to reports on Monday.Out of contract at the end of the season, Wenger is reported to be ready to sign a new two-year deal with the Gunners after revealing over the weekend he had made up his mind regarding his future and that an announcement would be made “very soon”.It is understood that, contrary to reports from German newspaper Bild, Arsenal have not made an official approach to Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel and seem resolved to stand by Wenger.The issue is likely to split the opinion of fans, with renewed calls from some sections of the fanbase to end his 21-year stay at Arsenal at the end of the campaign following a 3-1 loss at West Brom.Anti-Wenger fans flew a plane over The Hawthorns trailing a banner saying: ”No contract Wenger out” although another later proclaimed “In Arsene We Trust #RESPECTAW”A 10-2 aggregate defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League badly damaged Wenger’s standing while the setback on Saturday was their fourth loss in five top-flight matches and leaves them sixth in the table.Sitting six points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool – albeit with two matches in hand – a 20th successive season of Champions League football in 2017-18 hangs in the balance.But Wenger said after defeat to the Baggies that he does not think qualifying for Europe’s elite club competition is the be-all and end-all for the club.“My decision will not necessarily be linked with that because I’ve done the top four 20 times. It’s more, it’s not that,” said the Arsenal boss.“I take a bigger perspective than that. It’s not the last result that will decide what I will do.“It’s not (the end of the world), not any more. That was for a long time the case, but not today. Financially, I mean.“Of course, on the sporting front it would be a blow, but financially the Champions League does not have the impact any more that it had five or six years ago because of the influx of the television money (to the Premier League).”Asked whether some supporters’ actions in urging him to quit were disrespectful towards a manager who has brought nine major trophies to the club, including three Premier League titles, Wenger said: ”I don’t know.“I don’t want to judge. I’m judged enough and I’m not a judge so I can’t answer.“Everybody in life is responsible for his own behaviour. I’m responsible for my own behaviour. I don’t judge other people.“I give my best. As long as I am at the club, whether that is for two more years, 10 more years or four more months, that will not be different. As for all the rest, everybody has to look at themselves.”

I Have Decided On My Future at Arsenal – Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he had made a decision about his future following his side’s dispiriting 3-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.Wenger, Arsenal’s manager since 1996, has come under heavy pressure since his team’s 10-2 Champions League thrashing by Bayern Munich and fans made renewed calls for him to step down at The Hawthorns.“I know what I’ll do in my future and you’ll know very soon,” he told reporters after the game.Rival groups of Arsenal supporters paid for planes trailing banners that were both critical and supportive of Wenger to fly over the stadium during the game.A banner that read “NO CONTRACT #WENGER OUT” was seen flying above the stadium shortly before kick-off.But in the 16th minute, with the score 1-1, another plane was spotted overhead with a banner that read: “IN ARSENE WE TRUST #RESPECTAW”.Several fans brandished “WENGER OUT” banners at the final whistle.The 67-year-old Frenchman is believed to have been offered a new two-year contract by the club.Arsenal’s support is split over Wenger, who won seven trophies in his first nine seasons as manager but has won only two FA Cups in the 12 years since.Craig Dawson scored twice as West Brom condemned Arsenal to a fourth defeat in five league games, which left them five points off the Champions League places.Arsenal also lost goalkeeper Petr Cech to a muscular problem and Wenger revealed talisman Alexis Sanchez had sustained a potentially serious ankle injury.“It’s very worrying because we are not used to that. We have a hell of a task now to fight back,” Wenger told Sky Sports.“We need to improve and focus on the games coming up. There are many big games. We have to go away and recover and prepare well for the end of the season.”Cech hobbled off shortly before half-time, with David Ospina taking his place, while Sanchez gave way for Alex Iwobi late on.“We lost Petr Cech in the first half on a calf problem and after we lost Sanchez,” Wenger said.“He stayed on, but in the second half he was not himself so I decided to take him off. His ankle doesn’t look good. When it doesn’t go well, it’s always the same.”Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry delivered a damning verdict on the team’s performance.“They were nowhere near the desire and the commitment needed to win a game in the Premier League,” he said.Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain apologised to the club’s fans after the game, describing their performance as “not acceptable”.