AC Milan match reaction

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Going off your last paragraph, what makes Wenger's position untenable if Stan is only interested in profits and the business side?

Mainly because I think the pressure coming from the rest of the board (by all accounts they all want him gone) and his son (who's in London on a "fact finding mission") would just be too much for him to ignore anymore. Plus at this point even the most optimistic fans have gone - I think there's barely a dozen Arsenal fans among the entire global fanbase that want him to stay.

I think it's just the respect they have for Wenger that's preventing them pulling the trigger until the summer. Arseblog was making a good point about this but it seems unlikely that Ozil would have resigned unless he was given assurances about the future direction of the club, including change in the summer.

[HCZ]

Mainly because I think the pressure coming from the rest of the board (by all accounts they all want him gone) and his son (who's in London on a "fact finding mission") would just be too much for him to ignore anymore. Plus at this point even the most optimistic fans have gone - I think there's barely a dozen Arsenal fans among the entire global fanbase that want him to stay.

I think it's just the respect they have for Wenger that's preventing them pulling the trigger until the summer. Arseblog was making a good point about this but it seems unlikely that Ozil would have resigned unless he was given assurances about the future direction of the club, including change in the summer.

Why wouldn’t he sign....Ozil wanted more money. We got other players off the wage bill to facilitate that

I know there’s this belief that players put winning things above everything else but it tends to be an overstatement

Plus Ozil loves Wenger, doesn’t put any pressure on him to perform

The Ozil thing is speculation. The suggestion that somehow Wenger wouldn’t have been involved in the contract negotiations is absurd

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Why wouldn’t he sign....Ozil wanted more money. We got other players off the wage bill to facilitate that

I know there’s this belief that players put winning things above everything else but it tends to be an overstatement

Plus Ozil loves Wenger, doesn’t put any pressure on him to perform

The Ozil thing is speculation. The suggestion that somehow Wenger wouldn’t have been involved in the contract negotiations is absurd

Ozil could have easily got the same wage if not much higher at other clubs considering he was available on a bosman in a few months. Plenty of top teams would have snapped him up a free and he would have had his pick of elite clubs. Given that, why would he remain at our circus unless he was was assured of some kind of change of direction soon to get us out of the current rut?

And Wenger doesn't get into the weeds of contract stuff. He lets Ivan/Dick/Huss etc know whether he wants to keep or sell a player but it's then up to the contract negotiation team to iron out the details and persuade said player to stay - remember the situation with Cashley when he nearly crashed his car when he was only offered 55k a week instead of 60k by Edelman? Given he's a star player, it's likely Ivan was heavily involved in the negotiations and he would have been in a position to make promises to him and Ozil must have believed in them.

It's no surprise that the Joachim Low rumours started roughly around the time that Ozil signed.

[HCZ]

Ozil could have easily got the same wage if not much higher at other clubs considering he was available on a bosman in a few months. Plenty of top teams would have snapped him up a free and he would have had his pick of elite clubs. Given that, why would he remain at our circus unless he was was assured of some kind of change of direction soon to get us out of the current rut?

And Wenger doesn't get into the weeds of contract stuff. He lets Ivan/Dick/Huss etc know whether he wants to keep or sell a player but it's then up to the contract negotiation team to iron out the details and persuade said player to stay - remember the situation with Cashley when he nearly crashed his car when he was only offered 55k a week instead of 60k by Edelman? Given he's a star player, it's likely Ivan was heavily involved in the negotiations and he would have been in a position to make promises to him and Ozil must have believed in them.

It's no surprise that the Joachim Low rumours started roughly around the time that Ozil signed.

I’m sorry you are mistaken. Wenger very much gets directly involved in contract negotiations

I don’t think you seem to realise the absolute power grab Wenger made when the likes of Dein and Edelman left, what he does at the club goes far beyond any normal manager.

He was the one who implemented the socialist wage structure that had people like Bendtner on 50k a week

There was interest in Ozil but if clubs had wanted him that much, he’d be gone

And the Joachim Low rumours are just that. Totally unsubstantiated

[Power n Glory]

Mainly because I think the pressure coming from the rest of the board (by all accounts they all want him gone) and his son (who's in London on a "fact finding mission") would just be too much for him to ignore anymore. Plus at this point even the most optimistic fans have gone - I think there's barely a dozen Arsenal fans among the entire global fanbase that want him to stay.

I think it's just the respect they have for Wenger that's preventing them pulling the trigger until the summer. Arseblog was making a good point about this but it seems unlikely that Ozil would have resigned unless he was given assurances about the future direction of the club, including change in the summer.

I'm hoping pressure from the Board will force Wenger out and that Josh Kroenke is here to give him the boot but I don't know. I was reading this the other day and I'm not sure what to make of it.

‘I think that victory through harmony can take a lot of different meanings, but for me victory through harmony comes from communication. ‘You got to have open and honest dialogue about the reality that we are on because if we are sugar coating anything about ourselves, about our team, about our direction, we’re only kidding ourselves and we’re only going to be worse off for it in the long run.’

What if he's actually only here to learn more about the club because he intends to become a more active Board member and he's preparing to give someone at Board level the boot and not the manager?

I'd have to hear the context of the quote, but that doesn't sound great to me. I'm hoping he means 'open and honest dialogue' with the manager and letting him know the results aren't good enough but I also get the feeling he's talking about dialogue with the fans because his father has the Silent Stan nickname. He could mean the Board have been 'sugar coating' things with Wenger but I also get the feeling he's referring to fan expectation and I hope we're not gearing up for another 'we can't compete' type of speech and 'Wenger is doing a fabulous job considering the circumstances'. We've heard it all before.

I'm hoping this is his last contract but it doesn't sound like Wenger is ready to step down just yet.