Arsenal are set to review the positions of several members of their backroom staff if Arsene Wenger agrees to stay on as manager, according to The Times.
The newspaper claim that Wenger is set to sign a new two-year deal at the club during talks with the club’s board at a meeting on Tuesday, with the deal set to be announced on Wednesday or Thursday.
But it is also reported that two members of Arsenal’s coaching staff, goalkeeping coach Gerry Peyton and fitness chief Tony Colbert, could find themselves at risk of losing their jobs, with Wenger being pressed to make changes to his backroom team.
Peyton, 61, has served as goalkeeping coach since July 2003, but the long-serving senior man could be sacrificed as Arsenal consider options from the modern era.
The former Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper has built a strong relationship with many of Arsenal’s premier shot stoppers over the years, from Jens Lehmann to Petr Cech, but his current position is under pressure.
Fitness chief Colbert, 54, is also said by the Times to be under pressure ahead of Wenger’s board meeting on Tuesday.
Colbert has overseen the fitness and conditioning of the first-team squad at the north London club for 16 years, having joined the club early into Wenger’s reign.
But Wenger believes that it is he that should have the final say on his backroom team, and not the Arsenal board, meaning the senior duo could continue in their respective roles.
The board will also discuss making further structural changes, including improvements to the club’s scouting and recruitment network, with Arsenal having already identified several potential candidates.