Wenger exit expected to precede an end to Arsenal trophy drought

After a shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers, Ladbrokes go 6/4 that Arsenal are rid of Arsene Wenger by the end of this season.

Much scrutiny has surrounded Wenger’s team selection for Arsenal’s defeat to Rovers, with several key players rested for the Emirates clash.

And it is open to debate as to how wise that move was, with a Champions League round of 16 match with Bayern Munich in the pipeline.

The FA Cup was seen by many as the Gunners’ best chance of silverware this term though, and it is now 5/2 that Arsenal win another trophy under Wenger.

Some supporters are keen for change at the Emirates, feeling that Wenger has finally achieved all he can in his 17-year Gunners tenure.

Out of the Premier League title race and both domestic cups, only a successful European campaign would see him end the club’s silverware drought at the eight-year mark.

But with Arsenal massive 40/1 outsiders for the Champions League, Ladbrokes appear immensely confident that that trophy shortage will continue into next season.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are now only 6/1 to miss out on European qualification next season, a scenario which would likely necessitate the end of Wenger’s reign.

Seven points clear of seventh-place Swansea, it is difficult to envisage a fall from grace so severe that it condemns the Gunners out of Champions League or Europa League reckoning.

But with an added focus on this season’s European proceedings, and with Wenger willing to rest key players domestically, the North London side’s league form could suffer.

Should an early Champions League exit marry with a poor late-season run-in, the aforementioned 6/4 about Wenger leaving the club before next season will tempt many.

Alternatively, ‘The Professor’ can be backed at 1/2 to take charge of Arsenal’s first Premier League match of the 2013/2014 season.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.