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Germany coach Joachim Low will be the leading candidate to succeed Arsene Wenger, sources have told ESPN FC, if, as is becoming increasingly likely, the Arsenal manager's 22-year reign ends this summer.

Wenger's grip on his position has been weakened significantly in recent weeks, with the team currently on a run of four successive defeats in all competitions, and sources close to the first-team squad at the Emirates have also told ESPN FC that some senior players have now lost faith in the Frenchman and believe changes are needed in the dressing room and on the training pitch.

Although Wenger's contract as manager is not due to expire until June 2019, having signed a two-year deal following last season's FA Cup final victory over Chelsea, the 68-year-old is losing support within the Arsenal hierarchy.

Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers have their admirers at the Emirates, but sources have told ESPN FC that Low would be the preferred candidate to replace Wenger should a change be made.

Low is under contract with the German national football association (DFB) until the end of Euro 2020, but there is a belief within the game that the 58-year-old could be tempted to take on the challenge of club management following this summer's World Cup in Russia, where Germany will defend the trophy won four years ago in Brazil.

But even though he has not managed at club level since leaving his post as Austria Vienna coach in 2004, Low is regarded as possessing the credentials -- experience, successful track record and ability to manage star players -- to take charge of a club of Arsenal's stature.

Should Wenger leave Arsenal this summer, the search for his successor will be led by chief executive Ivan Gazidis, who has overseen the appointments in recent months of several key figures behind the scenes.

Sven Mislintat has arrived from Borussia Dortmund as head of recruitment, with former Barcelona director of football Raul Sanllehi coming in as head of football relations.

Huss Fahmy is another Gazidis recruit, arriving at the Emirates last summer as contract negotiator from a previous role with cycling's Team Sky.

But while there has been a quiet revolution in the corridors of powers, driven by Gazidis, aimed at ensuring a smooth transition when Wenger vacates the manager's office, a source close to one senior player has told ESPN FC that the squad have grown frustrated by the lack of change and evolution in Wenger's department.

"A lot of the players don't want Wenger," the source said. "They are not happy with his tactics and the training.

"The players don't want any particular manager to come in -- some speak about Thierry Henry, Carlo Ancelotti and even Rafa Benitez -- but they are really frustrated.

"A lot of them are also unhappy about the sale of Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United. Alexis could be difficult at times, but the players think it sent the wrong message to sell him to a rival."

But while there is a sense of exasperation among the players about the training methods and the intensity of training at key stages of the week, and also Wenger's inability to connect with modern players as he did with his squad during the club's successful period of the late-1990s and early-2000s, there are some at Arsenal who believe that the players have also let themselves and Wenger down.

One source has told ESPN FC that the "finger pointing" within the squad is down to a lack of players willing to take responsibility and act as leaders, on and off the pitch.

Wenger's fate is not yet sealed, but the Europa League round of 16 tie against AC Milan has become hugely significant due to the team falling 13 points adrift of fourth place, and the prospect of Champions League qualification, in the Premier League.

Any failure to win the Europa League, which carries Champions League qualification as a prize for the winners, would leave Wenger relying on the faith of majority shareholder Stan Kroenke to keep him in a job.

ESPN