When Arsene Wenger said "you will know soon" regarding his Arsenal future, a few minutes after his side had been humbled by West Bromwich Albion in the English Premier League, it was an invitation to the media to get the rumours, "informed" articles and "source" based reports going.
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While some suggested Wenger might end his 21-year stay at the club, most, unsurprisingly, have claimed the Frenchman will remain at Arsenal, be that for a year, two years or even more.
The latest report from The Guardian, one of the more trusted sources, claims Wenger is determined to stay at Arsenal, a deal has been agreed with the board and the only reason it hasn't been made public yet is because they are waiting for the right moment.
They know if they announce Wenger's new contract right now, there will be a backlash, even amongst the die-hard Wenger supporters.
Arsenal are, after all, mired in their worst Premier League run in the Wenger era at the moment, while they recently suffered the humiliation of being spanked 10-2 by Bayern Munich over the two legs of the round of 16 in the Champions League.
And this report should come as no surprise.
Wenger is stubborn and clearly does not feel there is anything drastically wrong with Arsenal, despite being unable to win a Premier League title in 13 years or seeing his team knocked out of the Champions League last 16 for seven consecutive seasons.
The board and the majority owner –Stan Kroenke – are more than happy to see the money coming in thanks to the top four positions that Wenger guarantees – even that seems unlikely this season – and the stability that the manager brings.
Why disturb something that is working perfectly for the elite few of the club right?
At the end of the day, the board is the one to blame for the current situation at Arsenal and the one that has been going on and on for the past several years.
When Arsenal announced their move to the Emirates, it was, apparently, to ensure that they could compete with the Bayern Munichs of the world, and yet, more than ten years on, they were just embarrassed by the German champions.
This Arsenal squad isn't as bad as some might feel, going by the results that continuously crop up against the stronger teams. It just has come to a point where, Wenger and his words do not have the same effect anymore, as it did a decade back, or even when Arsenal were struggling to keep hold of their players as they paid the loans for the new stadium.
Going stale is probably the worst thing that can happen to a football club. And that is precisely what is happening at Arsenal right now.
There can be no guarantees that a Thomas Tuchel – who has reportedly been contacted by Arsenal as Wenger's potential replacement, according to a report in German newspaper Bild, although the Guardian report denies that is the case – Massimiliano Allegri or Diego Simeone can turn the fortunes around in a heartbeat, but, you feel, they will certainly be able to get more from this set of players than Wenger is able to right now.
And, surely, that can only be a good thing.
