Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith admits that Arsene Wenger’s time as manager has ran its course.
Wenger has been in the Arsenal hot-seat for over 20 years since arriving in north London in 1996, but with his contract expiring this summer, the 67-year-old has refused to confirm whether he will be in situ come the start of next season.
On Friday night another former Gunner, Ian Wright, revealed that Wenger had dropped his biggest hint yet that he was prepared to leave Arsenal once his current deal expires, and Smith admitted that he feels things have become stale at the Emirates Stadium.
“We’ve reached the natural end of the cycle,” said Smith, working us a pundit on Sky Sports. “Everyone needs to feel loved and valued and at the moment that isn’t the case.
“I think it probably is time for change.
“The argument is look what happened to Manchester United.
“But you may have to be prepared to take one step back to take two steps forward.
“It has got stale here, there’s no doubt about it.”
Arsenal take on Hull City this afternoon looking to end a run of two Premier League defeats on the bounce.
