Arsenal suffered another surprising defeat at the hands of West Brom on Saturday, March 18 even though the Gunners went into the match as clear favorites. Arsene Wenger, whose contract expires at the end of this season, has been put under a lot of pressure by a large portion of Arsenal supporters who want the manager out of the club. After Arsenal's most recent defeat at the Hawthorns, Wenger finally claimed in a post-match interview that he will be announcing his future plans "very soon".
Baggies overpower the Gunners
The match between Arsenal and West Brom started off evenly with two early goals for each side by Craig Dawson and Alexis Sanchez. The second half, however, was a completely different story.
After both Petr Cech and Alexis Sanchez had to be substituted due to injuries, Arsenal once again collapsed. Even though, the Gunners dominated possession and enjoyed 77% of the ball, making 750 passes during the match, West Brom was much more efficient and direct in possession. The Baggies managed to get a total of 12 shots, 8 of which were on target. Arsenal, on the other hand, only managed 2 shots on target.
The game ended 3:1 for the Baggies with Dawson adding a second goal to his tally and Hal Robson-Kanu also getting on the scoresheet. And while the match itself was entertaining enough, the highlight of the game was certainly the moment a plane carrying the message "No Contract #WengerOut" flew over the stadium.
Unexpectedly, a second plane in support of Arsene Wenger soon followed when the Gunners equalized.
Wenger to make announcement about his future
In the post-match press conference Wenger was asked by a reporter, whether he believed that making a decision about his future public would help calm the protesting fans. In response, the Frenchman confirmed that he would be announcing his plans shortly.
The Arsenal boss said: "I know what I will do. You will soon know." He also added that his team's current form was much more important to him than his future.
"Today I do not necessarily worry about that. We are in a unique bad patch we never had in 20 years," Wenger said.
Club legend, Ian Wright, recently stated that Arsenal are currently going through their worst period in a long time, and Wenger seems to agree. Still, it remains to be seen whether the long-serving manager will quit the Gunners in the summer.