Thinking the unthinkable: is it time to let Wenger go?

ARSENAL are in trouble once more but still Arsene Wenger refuses to acknowledge the extent of the problems facing the club. That's the verdict of The Sun which claims the nutty professor will not make any additions to his squad during January's transfer window.

Despite the fact the Gunners have a fight on their hands to finish in the top four and thereby qualify for the Champions League (a feat they've achieved in the last 14 seasons), Wenger believes the current squad has the requisite strength in depth. Yet the Sun warns that his stubbornness will anger fans, particularly in the light of successive league defeats to Fulham and Swansea.
 
So incensed was one Arsenal supporter by the club's 3-2 defeat to Swansea on Sunday that he had a heated altercation with Thierry Henry, telling the Frenchman and his team-mates to find some backbone. Wenger, however, "will risk their wrath further by sticking with his current squad", although his strategy might alter next week once Manchester United have left town.

Alex Ferguson's men play Arsenal on Sunday at the Emirates. The last time the two great rivals met was back in August at Old Trafford when United humiliated Arsenal 8-2, a defeat that prompted Wenger to splash the cash and bring in a raft of reinforcements.

Unfortunately, two of those signings have backfired. Brazilian left-back Andre Santos has shown glimpses of skill but is out for three months with an ankle injury, while German centre-back Per Mertesacker is generally reckoned to be out of his depth.

The trouble is they're not the first players snapped up by Wenger in recent seasons who have failed to make the Gunners grade. "Dross" is the word used by Sun columnist Steven Howard to describe Johan Djourou, Mertesacker, Sebastien Squillaci, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh and Tomas Rosicky. Few Arsenal fans would disagree.

Then there's Wenger's blind devotion to Theo Walcott. The England winger has spent six seasons under-achieving at the Emirates and against Fulham, claims Howard, the 22-year-old reduced Wenger "to unconcealed rage". But still he picked him against Swansea while leaving the younger but far more potent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the bench.

There have been one or two good additions to the Arsenal squad in the past year or so. Mikel Arteta has done a decent job of filling the holes left by Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas in midfield and Laurent Koscielny has recovered from a shaky first season to look a reliable defender.

Yet Howard believes that should Arsenal suffer another defeat against United on Sunday then the board may start to think the unthinkable. Faced with the possibility of failing to qualify for the Champions League, a huge money-spinner for the club and also a magnet with which to attract new players, it might be time to say adieu to Monsieur Wenger.

Howard even has a contender for Wenger's job – Brendan Rodgers, the Swansea City manager. ·