Charlie Nicholas has a feeling that Arsene Wenger will confirm that he is leaving his position as Arsenal manager on Friday or over the weekend.
In his predictions for Sky Sports, the pundit backed the Gunners to comfortably beat AC Milan in the Europa League on Thursday, before revealing that he believes Wenger will reveal his future plans after that match.
“I also have a feeling that there might be an announcement by the manager either on Friday or over the weekend to confirm that he is going to step down in the summer, perhaps going upstairs, easing the tension and allowing the team to have a go for the Europa League without the same strain,” stated Nicholas.
“He knows the fans don’t hate him, they’re just angry with him, but it was the first time I’ve heard him use the word ‘hate’ and I just think he’s realising he needs to do something to ease the anger.
“I think when he looks up and sees 25,000 fans in the stadium he created that he’ll come to a decision that something has to change.”
Wenger has been the manager of the Gunners since October 1996, making him the club’s longest-serving manager.
OPINION
It make sense for Wenger to announce his plans after the AC Milan game as the weekend that follows it, the Gunners are not in action. The news will be highly-discussed and could be a distraction for the players on the pitch, so an announcement needs to be made when no game is being played. After the AC Milan game, the Gunners are not back in action until April. This is because they were knocked out of the FA Cup courtesy of Nottingham Forest and then there is an international break. It will be a sad sight to see Wenger announcing that he is leaving the club, however it has been predicted so many times now, that it won’t be believed until it happens.