Last Summer: Can Wenger and Arsenal Enjoy Glory Before the Goodbyes?

With extra money coming into the club from their lucrative deal with Puma, funds freed up from their deal with Emirates, not to mention increased TV revenue and the likely departure of a certain meerkat-a-like, it could be time for one last hurrah.

No doubt by now you're so bored of hearing the stat about all other 91 league clubs changing their manager since Arsene Wenger last won a trophy, you wish the Frenchman would up sticks and take the job with PSG that, you suspect, could be his if he wanted it.

However, Wenger, English football's longest-serving manager, does not want to do that. He exists in his own world, where it is inconceivable that he is not the man in charge at the Emirates. Others come and go, leagues are won and lost; the Frenchman never wavers from his enduring pursuit of Champions League qualification, the false trophy that has replaced all those actual ones he used to win.

That Arsenal continues to attend European football's most glitz and glam opera is, of course, no mean feat. However, it is only nine years since they were going unbeaten during an entire season. The Champions League was the consolation prize for coming second, or the cherry on the cake that is the Premier League. Now it is the main goal.

Some have suggested The Gunners need a change, but perhaps it is simply Wenger who needs to change himself. His desire to bring through youth is admirable, and to operate at a profit, somewhat successfully, even more so.

Wenger has always insisted he would honour his contract at the Emirates, which has one year remaining. It's entirely feasible that this will be his last year. After all, with his great rival gone, he must be wondering about his own managerial mortality. When he does step down, he'll rightly be remembered as one of the greats. But does he really want his recent legacy, of the last eight years, to read: finished fourth.

Now, with extra money coming into the club from their lucrative deal with Puma, funds freed up from their deal with Emirates, not to mention increased TV revenue and the likely departure of a certain meerkat-a-like, it could be time for one last hurrah.

Certainly, there have been murmurings of big signings. Stevan Jovetic has been increasingly mentioned, at a figure of around 30 Euros; Gonzalo Higuain has also been linked. These are the kinds have signings Wenger has increasingly shied away from, yet will need to make to turn his side into title contenders once more.

With all of his closest rivals changing manager, there's bound to be periods of transition. This coming season, provided they are willing to spend, could represent Arsenal's best chance in years at mounting a serious challenge. It may be Wenger's last chance.

Maybe one day he'll retire, and sunbathe on the French Riviera, looking on as Jack Wilshere lifts the Champions League trophy. Wilshere won't say anything to him, nor he to Wilshere, but they'll both know that Arsenal had made it, that they were happy.

Until then, though, Wenger will continue. The manager Arsenal deserves.

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