Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva has claimed that Arsene Wenger's 'time has come' to leave the club.
The Gunners look likely to be eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 for the seventh consecutive season, and are potentially in danger of missing out on the top four for the first time since the French coach arrived at the club.
With pressure growing from certain sections of the Arsenal fan base, Gilberto, who was part of the legendary 'invincibles' side,has expressed his belief that Wenger should bring his 20 year stay at the club to an end.
I feel that the time has come,� he told Sport360. The more the past is coming to a close, the more his time is coming “ not because he can't do the job any longer, but, perhaps because the other clubs have changed their way of working, the way of doings things.
He hasn't changed much, he hasn't changed his way of working “ not, because he doesn't want to, but it is not so easy to compete with clubs who spend a lot of money every season.�
He added:Wenger has spent a lot more years than them in the Premier League. They are younger and motivated and they have a lot of energy to look around and source ways to win against Wenger.
He has his own way of working, in which he believes. Irrespective of whether you are either a young or an old coach, you have to believe in something, and that's what he does.�