Arsene Wenger reveals Arsenal fate was in his players' hands over new contract

Arsene Wenger on Friday revealed how close he came to leaving Arsenal by admitting he put his fate in the hands of the players.

The Frenchman believes the protracted saga over his contract damaged the team’s form during last season, particularly in the period between January 31 and April 10 when the Gunners lost seven out of 12 matches in all competitions.

In a bid to ease the uncertainty, Wenger claimed after losing at West Brom in March that he had made a decision but, as reported by Standard Sport at the time, that comment was merely a smokescreen with the Frenchman genuinely torn over his future.

For the first time, Wenger has confirmed that his squad were told their performances in the run-in would determine whether the Frenchman would end his time in charge or not.

Arsenal won nine of their last ten matches culminating in an FA Cup Final success over Chelsea and Wenger signed a new two-year contract just four days later after meeting with majority shareholder Stan Kroenke and other board members.

Ahead of tonight’s Premier League opener against Leicester City at Emirates Stadium, the Frenchman told NBC: “I felt for a while it would not have a big impact but in the end I think it had a big impact.

“I assured the players in the final part of the season if we respond and win games, I will commit. I felt in the middle of the season it was a handicap.

“Was it difficult to speak to the media? Yes because it was a current subject and like always public life doesn’t tolerate uncertainty and uncertainty was there. I felt overall, with a distance, it was a mistake on my part.

"I should have dealt with it one way or the other earlier.

“My deep secret desire to continue was always there but I thought ‘let’s first see how we do’. But at the end of the day, I think we finished very well. We won nine of the last 10 games.

“We had a very difficult semi-final of the cup and a very difficult final. Maybe I should have done it differently. There is always a reason [why it was handled like it was] but I would want to put that now behind me and focus on the future.”