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LONDON. — Arsene Wenger has been told by Arsenal’s board to make a decision on his future with the club during the next international break.
Wenger is under increasing pressure to step down at the end of the season when his contract expires following back-to-back 5-1 defeats to Bayern Munich resulting in a seventh successive last 16 exit from the Champions League.
The Gunners also recently dropped out of the top four of the English Premier League following defeat to Liverpool.
Despite reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Saturday with a 5-0 win over Lincoln, the club want to know Wenger’s decision so they can begin planning for next season.
They want finality on the situation which is dividing fans by the time Manchester City face Arsenal at the Emirates on April 2.
That gives Wenger a fortnight from next Saturday – when the Gunners face West Brom – to decide whether he will sign the new two-year contract which is already on the table.
The Frenchman publicly said last week that he would not decide until the end of the season, while chairman Sir Chips Keswick released a statement saying the club would not rush into a decision.
And Wenger revealed he hasn’t ruled out extending his Arsenal reign after his side eased the pressure on the troubled boss with a 5-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over minnows Lincoln.
Wenger has faced calls for his resignation from angry Arsenal fans last week and there were more protests against the beleaguered Frenchman before Saturday night’s clash at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal’s comfortable progress to next month’s Wembley semi-finals kept the critics off Wenger’s back, days after they gave him a torrid time following last Tuesday’s Champions League humiliation against Bayern Munich.
The Gunners boss, who has yet to confirm if he will extend his contract when it runs out at the end of this season, claimed it was his preference to remain in charge of the English Premier League club, but he declined to say how much longer that would be for. — AFP
Online Reporter