Arsenal are planning to invite Arsene Wenger to their final game of the season, if Mikel Arteta's side are able to take the Premier League title race to the final day.
The Gunners have topped the division for much of the season, but a recent run of four successive games without a win has seen them relinquish their lead. Instead, Manchester City have surged into top spot and hold a one point lead, with a game in hand.
There are just four games left for Arsenal to retake first place, starting with a trip to Newcastle on Sunday. While their hopes of a first title win for 19 years are fading, the Gunners are planning for a final day shootout with City.
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal chiefs will invite Wenger to their final game of the season, the visit of Wolves on 28 May. The invite will be sent if Arteta's side still have a chance of winning the title.
Wenger last attended an Arsenal game on Boxing Day, for the Gunners' 3-1 win over West Ham. That was his first match back at the Emirates since he left his post as Gunners manager five years ago.
With the Frenchman having been the last manager to lead them to the title, Arsenal bosses want him to be present if Arteta's side have the chance to finally end their long trophy drought.
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Arsenal boss Arteta played under Wenger for the final five years of his playing career. And after the Frenchman was inducted into the Premier League's Hall of Fame in January, the Gunners boss cited him as one of his biggest influences.
“I had a dream to play for this club, and that was because of the way Arsenal played under Arsene. It was so attractive, I think every player wanted to play here! I had a phenomenal time with him, and I learnt a lot," Arteta said in January.
“That pushed me at the end of my career to become a coach, so he had a big influence on me. He helped me at the club and at the academy to do my badges, and he was an inspiration and always supportive.”
Arteta will need to mastermind four wins in succession for the Gunners to stand a chance of overhauling City. But the Spaniard is insisting he is not paying attention to the results of his side's title rivals.
"We have enough to deal with just looking after what we have to do and playing well to win the games. I don’t know what’s going to happen. They have won a lot of games in the last few months, and if they continue to do so they will deserve to win the league," he said.
"If they don’t then we have to be ready, winning our games, to be there. It’s more down to the players. We don’t know what they are thinking right now, or what their focus is. They will try to win every game, we will try to do the same, and then we’ll see what happens."
