EPL: Arsenal vs Manchester City: Fernandinho rules out of clash

Four men are linked with replacing the Frenchman: Leonardo Jardim of Monaco, Joachim Low of Germany, Brendan Rodgers of Celtic (yes please) and Manchester City coach and former Arsenal player Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal have now lost a record six League Cup finals and it remains the only silverware manager Arsene Wenger has not won.

There was a time when the discontented chants of “Wenger Out” that rang out around the Emirates Stadium seemed an unnecessarily mean-spirited display against a manager who has given Arsenal some of their greatest successes.

“There are excuses (from Wenger) and he is mollycoddling a team”, Wright told the BBC. “All I have got to do is stay fit and play my football”. “This development of mediocrity has to be arrested”.

The defeat to City was the latest blow in what is developing into a hard season for Arsenal, who exited the FA Cup at the hands of Nottingham Forest and survived a scare in the Europa League when they lost at home to Ostersunds in the second leg of the last 32. I want someone in the boardroom who will lay it down.

Whether you are someone who doubts Mesut Ozil’s ability to shine on the biggest stages or not, the Arsenal star needs to show that he can take a game by the scruff of the neck. Everyone is progressing and moving forward in that top five. While Alexis Sanchez left for Manchester United, Ozil signed a new deal at Arsenal – with a huge pay-rise – but still manages to go missing. “It is a long road”.

Arsenal head in to tomorrow’s game knowing anything other than a win would all-but end our hopes of finishing in the top four as we’re now 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham. The Daily Mail also report that chief executive Ivan Gazidis pushed for Wenger to become director of football last summer, but was unable to shift the 68-year-old from his current role.

Things are also changing behind the scenes, with a new chief scout arriving from Dortmund, Sven Mislintat, and Raul Sanllehi appointed head of football relations, suggesting Wenger’s grip on power may be weakening.

But it was men against boys after the break as City totally dominated a disappointing Arsenal side, cantering to a 3-0 win with further goals from an ecstatic Vincent Kompany and David Silva. You will not decide your future in your newspapers, and I am exactly like you. “I don’t understand when other managers criticise the other managers because we feel the same, when we win, when we lose, we accept the opinions of the fans and the people and you feel alone”.