OFFICIAL: Wenger to leave Arsenal at the end of the season

The Frenchman announced on Friday that he would quit the club at the end of the current campaign, a year before his contract was due to end.

Arsenal currently sit sixth in the Premier League and look set to miss out on Champions League qualification for a second season in succession.

“After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season," Wenger revealed in a statement.

"I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years. I managed the club with full commitment and integrity.

"To all the Arsenal lovers, take care of the values of the club."

The club's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke paid tribute to Wenger, lauding his longevity.

"This is one of the most difficult days we have ever had in all our years in sport," he admitted.

"One of the main reasons we got involved with Arsenal was because of what Arsene has brought to the club on and off the pitch.

"His longevity and consistency over such a sustained period at the highest level of the game will never be matched."

Wenger took the reigns at the club back on October 1 1996 and is currently the longest-serving manager in the Premier League, having taken charge of 823 games.

However, popular opinion has turned against him in recent months and years following Arsenal's decline as a domestic and European power.

Arsenal have lost 11 Premier League games this season, equalling their worst ever campaign under the former Nagoya Grampus Eight boss and sit 14 points behind arch-rivals Tottenham, who occupy the final Champions League spot, with just five games of the season to go.

 

20 April 2018