Arsenal Dumped Out of FA Cup, The End For Arsene Wenger?

Soccer pundits questioned whether a third-straight FA Cup triumph would be enough for Arsenal fans. That will no longer be an issue, after the Gunners lost 2-1 at home to Watford in the quarterfinals.

Arsenal blew their Premier League title challenge, earning just one of a potential nine points from their last three matches. It was a golden opportunity, with Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool falling apart in the same season.

Their thoroughly unimpressive Champions League campaign is all but over, after losing 2-0 to Barcelona in the home leg. The way Arsenal are playing, fourth-place and a spot in next year’s Champions League is no guarantee.

The comprehensive failure follows a pattern that has become all to familiar over the past decade. It also comes after Arsenal declined to supplement the squad adequately in the summer transfer window, also a pattern.

Will this finally be the end for Arsene Wenger?

The Frenchman will go down among the all-time greats. He has won three Premier League titles, six FA Cups, and took Arsenal to a Champions League Final. His teams’ style, signing policy, and training methods revolutionized English soccer.

But, the question now is not what Wenger has done. It’s what Wenger offers now and next season. His consistency amidst financial turnover has been no small feat. But, he no longer seems like the manager who can push the team on to win. The counterpoint: the reason the club has been so close for so long has been Arsene Wenger.

Will Stan “Just Good Enough to Keep Em Coming” Kroenke be the man to make a tough decision? He’s negotiating an extension for far more mediocre Jeff Fisher with the Rams.

What may save Wenger for 2016-17 is there’s no strong candidate to replace him. Pep Guardiola is going to Manchester City. Jurgen Klopp already joined Liverpool. It’s hard to see Arsenal cozying up with Wenger’s arch-nemesis Jose Mourinho. Would Southampton’s Dutch manager Ronald Koeman be the guy?