Wenger’s departure expected before Arsenal next win a trophy

Despite Arsene Wenger coming in for more criticism than ever following Arsenal’s shock Capital One Cup elimination at the hands of lowly Bradford City, he’s still odds-on to be in charge at the Emirates come the first day of next season.

A price of 8/13 says he’ll be sitting in the Gunners’ dugout for the 2013/14 curtain-raiser, even though the betting suggests Arsenal will endure their worst season ever under his guidance.

At present, a price of 6/1 dictates that they will finish this by getting their hands on some silverware but, in reality, the odds should be infinitely higher.

The north London club have failed to win in five of their last seven Premier League games and currently sit 18 points behind league leaders Manchester United, who are out of sight as far as Arsenal’s title chances are concerned.

So with winning the Capital One Cup out of the equation and the Premier League only marginally less impossible, just the FA Cup and Champions League remain up for grabs.

After finishing second in one of the easier groups, Arsenal must now hope for a kind draw in the first knockout round of Europe’s elite competition if they are to have any hope of progression. However, with their list of potential opponents including the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, things don’t look great on this front and their odds of 28/1 to lift the trophy indicate this.

The FA Cup would seem their only remaining hope and they haven’t exactly been handed a plum draw in this competition.

They must travel to south Wales to face a Swansea side who recently beat them 2-0 on their own patch, as well as prevailing 3-2 on Arsenal’s first visit to the Liberty Stadium last term.

Winning this tie is far from a formality and you wouldn’t fancy them against any of the other big names should they make it beyond the first fence either.

All these factors conspire to make the 4/6 that Arsenal fail to win a single trophy before Wenger throws the towel in an excellent price. Running alongside that is the 1/1 on offer for the Gunners to win no trophy and finish outside the top four this season.

Should this eventuality occur, and all recent signs suggest that it will, the Frenchman’s departure would have to follow.

Failure to make the Champions League for the first time in 15 years would be undisputable evidence that the club is going backwards; although many would argue it has been for a while. This would have to prompt a change in direction from a managerial perspective, making the aforementioned 4/6 punt as good as free money, should the 1/1 shot come in.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date