Ivan Gazidis has told supporters that Arsenal are performing a “thorough review” of the club amid calls from a section of the fanbase for Arsene Wenger to leave this summer.
The board have been criticised for not doing enough but chief executive Gazidis, in a question-and-answer session with fans on Sunday, said he was “acting as a catalyst for change”.
A significant number of Gunners fans want to see Wenger, who has been in charge since 1996, bring down the curtain on his reign at the end of this season.
Gazidis stressed the need for change this summer regardless of whether Wenger remains.
That could be in the form of a new director of football role and restructuring off the pitch in areas such as scouting and recruitment, as well as changes in the coaching staff around Wenger.
Gazidis reiterated that a new contract would be a “mutual decision to be taken by the club and the manager”.
He admitted results this season have been disappointing but would not go into detail about the changes that could take place in the summer.
Tim Payton of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust, who attended the meeting, said: “Ivan Gazidis said that he and the Arsenal board were ‘not happy with current results and that Arsenal were not where we want them to be’.
“Gazidis also confirmed to the AST that any decision on a new contract was a mutual decision to be taken by the club and the manager and that the club had yet to make a decision on this.
“He said he was leading a thorough review of the situation and acting as a catalyst for change.”
A survey of AST members showed that 78 per cent of them think Wenger should not be given another contract. The findings had been presented to Gazidis and Payton said the chief executive “had clearly taken the time to review them”.
Ill feeling persists among those Arsenal fans who back Wenger and those who oppose him, as film emerged on social media of Gunners supporters fighting one another during yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City, which has happened before this season.
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