Gaël Clichy has warned Arsenal supporters calling for Arsène Wenger to stand down as manager to be “careful what you wish for” following his return to the club with Manchester City on Sunday.
Some fans marched to the Emirates Stadium carrying banners with messages such as “Arsène, 4th place is not a trophy” while one drove a van to the venue carrying a quote from Ivan Gazidis from 2011 in which the chief executive said: “Arsene is accountable to the fans”. After the match, which ended in a 2-2 draw that left Arsenal seven points adrift of the top four, footage emerged of Arsenal fans fighting inside and outside stadium as the atmosphere surrounding Wenger’s future became even more toxic.
Wenger has still not confirmed whether he plans to remain at the Emirates Stadium beyond this season but Clichy, who spent eight years at the club before joining City in 2011, has defended his former manager’s record since he arrived in England 21 years ago and suggested his departure may lead to Arsenal’s regression rather than progression.
“The manager does not really deserve what he is getting,” the full-back said. “I can understand because football is free for everybody to have opinions so you cannot stop that. And you cannot only think about the past because it is also about the present. But I don’t think many managers could have done what he has in the last 10 years.
“You always want something new when you are used to something and what you get is probably most of the time not better than what you have, so you have to be careful what you wish for.”
Arsenal are sixth having lost four and drawn one of their past six league games, a period in which they have also exited the Champions League in humiliating circumstance, losing 10-2 on aggregate against Bayern Munich in the last-16 stage.
The chances of them qualifying for Europe’s elite competition for a 20th successive season now appear slim. Wenger’s side have a game in hand on City in fourth, and two in hand on Liverpool in third, but such is their form it is hard to see them making up the gap on both sides, let alone Tottenham Hotspur in second, who are now 11 points ahead of their north London rivals and well on course to finish above them for the first time since 1995.
All of which has cranked up the pressure on Wenger. It is widely expected that he will sign to stay on at Arsenal for another season at least, with Gazidis having reportedly told a group of fans’ representatives before Sunday’s game that the Frenchman must become a “catalyst for change” if he does remain in situ.
Clichy said of Wenger: “I’m not going to get into any detail but I do believe he is the right man. He has been the right man for so many years and I am listening to what people are saying. If the club is spending more money and they have the players they need, then perhaps Wenger is the perfect man. If you take him off and you bring someone else with the same structure, would he be better? Would he do better? I’m not sure.
“It’s not for me to say if it’s in the right hands or not but I do believe what he has done in the past is amazing.”
