Tomorrow marks the final match day of the Premier League season, (though the Football Association Cup Final is not until next week at Wembley Stadium) and although no trophies will be won, as Chelsea has already run away with the title, there are still several major implications. For starters, two of the four automatic Champions League Spots remain up for grabs between Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. Although those spots in Europe’s top club football tournament are the most coveted things up for grabs this weekend it could be argued that they are not the most significant. That distinction belongs to the fact that Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney and Wenger’s careers in top-flight English football could be coming to an end. For Wenger, this week may represent the last time he leads the Gunners into a home game (although his side will face Chelsea in the F.A. Cup Final). It has been a tumultuous season for the Frenchman who has lead Arsenal since 1996 who may miss out on a top-four spot for the first time since his inaugural campaign at the helm, which comes on the back of a seventh consecutive cratering in the Champions League Round of 16, and growing discontent among Arsenal fans, some of whom have taken to renting planes with banners saying #WengerOut. With his contract up, and a meeting with the board of directors set for after the F.A Cup Final hopefully if Wenger does decide to leave the fans will show some appreciation for the three-time Premier League winning coach.
In the case of Rooney, the five-time Premier League winner, one-time Champions League winner, and top scorer in the long history of Manchester United, age has sapped his effectiveness and he may be better suited to playing in an inferior league at this point, such as the Chinese Super League where many European players over thirty have flourished, or Major League Soccer in the United States. At thirty-one, Rooney may not sound old to the non-football fans, but Rooney has played in the Premiership since 2002 when he was a sixteen-year-old at Everton, and at United since 2004, which means his tires have a lot of tread on them. Combine this with his general out of place nature in United Manager Jose Mourinho’s tactics and it becomes apparent that despite his legendary stature at the club, it may be best for United to unload him in the transfer window this summer. Both he and Wenger have contributed much to their respective clubs, but after so long it may be time for a goodbye from both fans and players, maybe I am wrong about Rooney being ineffective at top-flight English football and he will transfer to another EPL club. Similarly, Wenger could either renew his contract or become manager elsewhere, but on Sunday there will be some level of wonderment about their futures.
