Arsenal

Arsene Wenger: 'Champions League qualification will not affect future'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 19 March 2017

Wenger: 'CL qualification will not affect future'

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists that his future at the club will not be affected by whether or not they finish in the top four this season.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted that his future at the club does not depend on whether they qualify for the Champions League this season.

The Frenchman has steered Arsenal to a top-four finish and European football at the highest level in all of his 20 seasons at the helm, but Saturday's 3-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion leaves the Gunners in sixth place and six points adrift of the Champions League spots.

Wenger, whose contract expires this summer, confirmed after the match that he has now made a decision over his future which will be revealed soon, but insists that finishing outside the top four would not affect whether he stays or leaves.

"My decision will not necessarily be linked with that because I've done the top four 20 times. It's more, it's not that. I take a bigger perspective than that. It's not the last result that will decide what I will do," he told reporters.

"It's not [the end of the world], not any more. That was for a long time the case, but not today. Financially, I mean. Of course, on the sporting front it would be a blow, but financially the Champions League does not have the impact any more that it had five or six years ago because of the influx of the television money [to the Premier League]."

Saturday's match also saw both pro-Wenger and anti-Wenger banners flown over The Hawthorns, but Wenger refused to comment on the conflicting opinions of the club's fans.

"I don't know. I don't want to judge. I'm judged enough and I'm not a judge so I can't answer. Everybody in life is responsible for his own behaviour. I'm responsible for my own behaviour. I don't judge other people," he added.

"I give my best. As long as I am at the club, whether that is for two more years, 10 more years or four more months, that will not be different. As for all the rest, everybody has to look at themselves."

Recent reports have suggested that Arsenal have approached Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel about succeeding Wenger, suggesting that the Frenchman's 21-year reign could be coming to an end this summer.