Arsene Wenger has cast fresh doubt on his future at Arsenal, admitting he is unsure whether he will be in charge next season.
Wenger’s current Arsenal terms, signed last May, expire at the end of the 2018-19 season and the 68-year-old has always insisted he is the sort of man who honours his contracts.
However at October’s Annual General Meeting Wenger confirmed that the Arsenal board will review his position at the end of the season.
His case would hardly have been aided by Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final, where Pep Guardiola’s league leaders rarely needed to hit top gear as they cruised past Arsenal.
Asked after the game whether he would still be in charge next season Wenger replied “who knows?”
Arsenal could have claimed an eighth minute lead when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was twice denied by Claudio Bravo at close range but from then on it was one-way traffic.
An inept Shkodran Mustafi allowed Sergio Aguero to burst in behind and lob David Ospina before goals from Vincent Kompany and David Silva secured the convincing win in the second half.
“In these types of games, playing against a side of that calibre, to be 1-0 down is difficult,” Wenger said.
“When we came out, we didn't start the second half well and were a bit unlucky because for me the second goal was 100 per cent offside [Leroy Sane was in an offside position when Kompany diverted the ball in] and then it was difficult. We tried to come back, to change the system, but it was very difficult.
“[The second goal] was a changing point in the game and after that they were in control. They were nervous in the first half and overall I think the second goal played a big part in the final result.
“We had the chances and I am very disappointed but it made me think about playing Barcelona in Paris [in 2006] when we missed the chance in the first half. Against a team of that quality it is important to take your chances straight away.”
