Arsène Wenger has suggested that the timing of the Arsenal annual general meeting is not ideal for him, coming as it does on the day before a match. Arsenal host Reading in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night and Wenger’s final training session before the match stands to be affected by the meeting with shareholders, which has been scheduled for 11.30am on Monday.
Wenger is scheduled to give a speech at the meeting, which is normally the highlight, but, when he discussed the subject, he initially made it sound as though he would not be able to attend. “Normally, I’m not there because we prepare a game for Tuesday and we practise on Monday morning,” Wenger said.
He was asked to clarify the comment. Was he going to make it? “I don’t know,” he replied. “My work is to practise [with the team].” Wenger will find a solution and he will attend – “I will see how I can combine both,” he went on to say – but it was difficult to ignore the impression that he considered it an inconvenience.
It has been reported that the meeting is being held on a Monday for the first time to fit in with the schedule of the club’s majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke. The American watched his NFL team, Los Angeles Rams, play New York Giants at Twickenham on Sunday.
The mood at the AGM has been spiky in the past but it feels as if it will be calmer this time. Wenger oversaw significant investment in the playing squad over the summer – there have long been calls for him to spend – and the team have made an encouraging start to the season.
“I think we have never gone into the AGM in a disastrous state,” Wenger said. “Why? Because we are always in the top four [of the Premier League]. Work in the club for six months and you will see how it is inside. We have always been, every time, in a decent financial situation.
“ Maybe the shareholders were not always happy. Will it be better this time? Come to the AGM and you will see. I don’t know the weather forecast.”
Arsenal missed the chance to go into the meeting on a high, having been held to a disappointing 0-0 home draw by Middlesbrough on Saturday. It ended their run of seven consecutive victories in all competitions. “Let’s not go overboard,” Wenger said. “We come out of a strong period. Everybody can have a draw. You don’t win on command. When you go into a game like Middlesbrough, the AGM is not in your mind. You want to do well and win the game and, when you don’t win, you deal with it.”
Wenger admitted Olivier Giroud could feature in the Reading tie. The striker has been restricted to four substitute appearances for the club this season because of a toe injury. “Physically, he has no problem,” Wenger said. “He’s still not completely there but he’s better and he might be in the squad on Tuesday.”