Arsène Wenger believes that he is the best man to take Arsenal forward and has told his coaching staff that the club will have to sack him to bring an end to his 22-year tenure.

The Arsenal manager is facing increasing pressure to stand down at the end of a dismal season in which his side have slumped to sixth place in the Premier League, 33 points behind the leaders Manchester City. The Frenchman, though, is undeterred and will resist any attempts to get him to agree to a dignified exit this summer. Wenger has never broken a contract in his career and having signed a new two-year deal last summer wants to see it out with one final campaign at the Emirates Stadium.

Gazidis has been driving change but will find it hard to persuade Wenger to step down ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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