Arsène Wenger has described the “psychological environment” in which Arsenal have had to perform since January as “absolutely horrendous” and accepted for the first time that the lack of clarity over his personal situation had contributed to it.
Arsenal defeated Everton 3-1 on the final day of the Premier League season but, with Manchester City and Liverpool winning against Watford and Middlesbrough respectively, there was no late surge into the Champions League places.
For the first time since 1997 Wenger’s team have missed out on Europe’s elite competition and the fans inside the stadium turned on Stan Kroenke, the majority shareholder, chanting that they wanted him out of the club. It emerged on Friday night that Kroenke had turned down a £1bn takeover bid from Alisher Usmanov, who holds a 30% stake in the club and has suggested he would like to shake things up.
Wenger defended Kroenke, saying it was not his fault the squad had fallen short, but he admitted that the often toxic atmosphere around the club had been a factor in the worst league campaign of his near 21-year tenure. For the first time he has finished outside the top four places.
The fans have been divided over whether Wenger should stay on when his contract expires in the summer and there have been protests against him since the season began to unravel with the home defeat by Watford on 31 January. Wenger is expected to continue and there will be clarity after the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday. The lack of it throughout the season, however, has cast long shadows.
“I believe that since January we played in a very difficult environment for different reasons,” Wenger said. “Some you know about – and it is very difficult for the group of players to cope with that – and [there are] some other reasons we will talk about another day. But the psychological environment for the group of players was absolutely horrendous.
“It has been difficult and, certainly, my personal situation has contributed to that. But I am professional and, as long as I am somewhere, I do my job until the last day. You could not question my love or my loyalty to this club because I said no to every club in the world to stay here with very restricted finances for years. So I don’t understand why [there is] the question [about] that commitment. We are professional and a part of that is to perform when the environment is not positive. We have not to look there as an excuse but I just say it’s a fact it doesn’t help.”
Wenger was asked whether he accepted the responsibility for being a cause of the negative mood. “Yes, of course.”
He did not join in the post-match lap of appreciation – he said he wanted the players to have “the quiet lap of honour they deserved” – and he was vague and evasive about the reasons for the lack of clarity over his situation. It is understood the offer of a two-year contract has been on the table for months. He was asked whether the terms had changedat any point. It has emerged, more recently, that the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, wants to make various structural tweaks, including to scouting and coaching.
“I don’t understand what you want to hear from me but my situation will be sorted out soon,” Wenger said. “So let’s prepare for the Cup final. We won eight of our last nine games, despite the lack of clarity, so we have just to focus to win the next one. When did the lack of clarity affect the team? It’s a good question. I cannot give you the answer today. I will give you an answer one day. But not today.”
Wenger said he did not know whether Kroenke had attended against Everton. “I respect Stan Kroenke a lot. He is not at fault if we did not reach the Champions League. It is the technical department who is responsible for that.”