Keown says Wenger’s future has already been decided

Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Premier League title this season have evaporated quite swiftly over the past few weeks and following another season of failure, there have been widespread calls from the fans for manager Arsene Wenger to step down.

Currently, the contractual situation surrounding Wenger’s deal beyond the end of the campaign is very murky but ex-Gunners’ defender Martin Keown has gone on to state his belief that the decision on the 67-year-old staying put at the Emirates Stadium has already been made.

“I don’t believe for a minute that the board and the directors don’t know what direction Arsene Wenger is going – this is a multimillion pound business – we can’t be waiting for one person,” Keown told talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Jacobs show.

“I’m sure it’s when do they announce he’s staying – how do we present that to the Arsenal fans – and when is the right time to make the announcement.

“It’s been 13 years without a Premier League title. And if you’re a Manchester United fan and you go 13 years without winning a Premier League title; I think you’d be looking for change.

“So there’s a competitive part of me that thinks: I’m not accepting this, we need to win. But Arsene Wenger is one of life’s visionaries – he’s a very special individual – and I think Arsenal don’t really want to let go of that.”

Arsenal players unhappy over Ozil enjoying ‘preferential treatment’

Mesut Ozil is undoubtedly a world class player but he does tend to go missing during big matches for Arsenal and following the German international’s poor displays over the past few weeks, a lot of criticism has been levied at the talented playmaker’s direction.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has refused to criticize Ozil despite his recent poor form though and if reports from the Daily Mail are to be believed, such a preferential treatment towards the 28-year-old has angered the Gunners’ squad.

The players are said to be unhappy with Wenger’s aversion to dropping Ozil or indeed taking him off during matches and there is allegedly unrest in the squad due to this reason.

Key Information ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Bayern Munich

Arsenal travel to the Allianz Arena to square off against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg on Wednesday night and the match is certain to be a huge test for the Gunners. Here are some important information regarding the game –

Televised on – BT Sport 2 HD, Time 19:45 BST

Injuries – Jerome Boateng, Xabi Alonso, Franck Ribery (Bayern), Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)

Predicted sides - Bayern: Neuer, Lahm, Martinez, Hummels, Alaba, Kimmich, Vidal, Robben, Muller, Thiago, Lewandowski

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coqeulin, Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi, Sanchez

Head to Head

Nov 2015 - Bayern 5-1 Arsenal
Oct 2015 – Arsenal 2-0 Bayern
Mar 2014 – Bayern 1-1 Arsenal
Feb 2014 – Arsenal 0-2 Bayern
Mar 2013 – Bayern 0-2 Arsenal
Feb 2013 – Arsenal 1-3 Bayern

Betting Odds

Bayern Munich – 1/2

Draw – 10/3

Arsenal – 5/1