Arsenal need evolution, not revolution – ESPN FC (blog)

Steve Nicol looks at the saga of Arsene Wenger's future, and his belief that he'll walk should he lose any personal power. Stevie Nicol believes Arsenal's FA Cup triumph over Chelsea will be enough to keep Arsene Wenger at the club. An Arsenal fan and a Chelsea fan document their journey to the FA Cup final, where only one can leave Wembley Stadium happy. Arsene Wenger reaffirms his loyalty to Arsenal after winning the FA Cup for the seventh time.

The warm afterglow of the FA Cup win will not last long for Arsenal with numerous problems to be addressed at the club, with or without coach Arsene Wenger.

The manager's future should be sorted out this week with a board meeting to discuss a new two-year contract taking place on Tuesday. He wants to stay at the Emirates and it is likely that he will be in charge when the new season starts. So much power has been concentrated in Wenger's hands that it would be unthinkable that he should leave now.

The board recognised during the course of the season that the situation is unhealthy: If the manager resigned suddenly, like Sir Alex Ferguson did at Man United, the vacuum left behind would be damaging. There is little framework in place that would adequately support a new man.

The most sensible course would be to create an infrastructure while Wenger is still in charge. Yet the problem there is that it would mean a diminution of the 67-year-old's control.

The board and manager have very different ideas about the direction of the club. Wenger has dismissed the possibility of working with a director of football and is skeptical about the increasing influence of statistical analysts. But Ivan Gazidis, the chief executive, has pledged that team's struggles this season would be "a catalyst for change." Arsenal need rebuilding, whether or not Wenger remains in place.

Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final brought glory but only adds to the sense of instability. There are some within the club who see the FA Cup as a consolation prize, an underwhelming bauble compared with the cash bonanza of claiming a Champions League place. By the standards Arsenal's hierarchy have come to expect, finishing outside the top four, and facing a season in the Europa League, is failure despite the addition of more silverware. For Wenger, winning the cup brought vindication, though the board might not see it that way.

It's hard to deny that Arsenal underachieved in the Premier League. The season should serve as a reality check for Wenger and his methods. Certainly, he needs to change the way he operates. Some element of compromise will be needed if the manager is going to continue in his role. That will be difficult for him to reconcile.

The squad also needs an overhaul. Alexis Sanchez, the team's most important player, is in demand and will consider the overtures of Manchester City and Chelsea before deciding whether or not to commit to a new contract in North London. Wenger has always played a dangerous game when letting players run their contracts down to the final year, something he's seemingly allowed Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to do.

Robin van Persie headed to Manchester United when Wenger insisted he was not for sale and into the final year of his deal. He famously insisted that Cesc Fabregas was staying even when the midfielder was negotiating with Barcelona. It was the same with Samir Nasri. Everyone accepted that Nasri was bound for City ... except his manager. And Bacary Sagna also moved to City when his deal expired.

At times he has appeared to be in denial about losing his top players.

If Sanchez departs -- at this point, Arsenal would have to restructure their pay scale to keep him with the player reportedly demanding 300,000-a-week -- Wenger will struggle to replace the Chile international with someone of similar ability without the lure of Champions League involvement.

Ozil is in a similar position. The German may not be quite in the same demand as Sanchez, but losing him would leave a hole in the side. Despite what Wenger says about making both men fulfill their contracts and leave for nothing next summer, he cannot allow that to happen. Stan Kroenke may be a largely silent owner, but he would quickly become vocal at the prospect of losing more than 120 million's worth of players for nothing.

Arsenal do not need to sell. They need to buy. Wenger has to find the elusive dominant midfielder that he has sought for so long and so fruitlessly. He needs a centre-back and a reliable goal scorer. He knows that for all the elation and emotion of Wembley, a poor start next season would see the mood turn toxic at the Emirates.

Yet Wenger was in a bullish mood after the FA Cup final. He will be combative when he meets the board. He believes his way of working is correct and that he has the record and experience to dictate the way the club should run. For Wenger, winning that trophy only adds to his authority.

Meanwhile, the board want change and need it. They cannot afford for it to happen too fast, though, as it's hard to imagine any manager filling the void Wenger would leave. It is in no one's interests to rip up the Arsenal template and start again. Evolution, not revolution, is what is necessary.

And so, the club face a difficult balancing act. They need Wenger to provide stability while Arsenal edge toward the future. Yet the Wembley win is likely to make Wenger less inclined to compromise. It might have been cleaner, easier and better for Arsenal in the long term had Chelsea beaten them at Wembley.

As one of the so-called "experts" shamed by Ozil for our cup final predictions, I thought that the German international's tweet showing the scorelines projected by myself and a number of fellow writers was very funny. There are times when you have to hold up your hands, admit you got it wrong and congratulate the team that made you look silly.

However, the most foolish prediction I made last season was in September and October, when I was telling anyone who would listen that Arsenal would win the Premier League. Santi Cazorla was marshaling the midfield, Sanchez was superb at No. 9 and Ozil was flourishing in the space behind him. The Gunners had the best shape of any team I saw in the first three months of the campaign.

Then it all went wrong. So thanks, Arsenal, for making me look doubly daft. That's Wenger's team for you: sometimes brilliant, frequently infuriating, but never, ever predictable.

Tony Evans has been a sports journalist for more than 20 years. He writes for ESPN FC on the Premier League. Twitter: @tonyevans92a.

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Arsenal need evolution, not revolution - ESPN FC (blog)