Soccer
Arsène Wenger expects talks over new Arsenal contract will be 'straightforward' after Stan Kroenke gives backing
Arsène Wenger has predicted that talks over a new contract should be quick and “straightforward” after Stan Kroenke, the club’s majority owner, gave his full endorsement to the Frenchman remaining manager in “the long-term”.
In an interview with Telegraph Sport, Kroenke said that Wenger was absolutely central to his plans for Arsenal and that, although it would be Wenger's choice, he was unequivocal in wanting to keep the club’s most successful ever manager.
Wenger has previously suggested that he still feels a need to prove himself before extending a contract that expires next year but gave a clear indication this morning that he wants to sign a deal that will take him into his third decade at the club.
“The good thing with me, if I have one quality, you don't need a lot of talks to extend the contract I have,” said Wenger. Asked when he would sign the contract, he said: “I don't know. When we find time. I don't think that's the most important problem at the moment.
“I am very honoured to have the support of Stan Kroenke. That he thinks I can help the club is a huge confidence vote. That is something for me that is very positive. I said I want to focus on the quality of our season. I don't believe that anybody can question my commitment to this club. I want to feel that I do well and then the question of me staying will be secondary after that.
“I turned many offers down because I rate what I got here and I always thought that this club is special on that front. In our job it's important to know what you want and I rated the qualities that this club has always shown.”Asked if that meant the talks would be straightforward, Wenger said: “That's straightforward and I don't think there's anything more to add to that.”
Wenger will reach 17 years at Arsenal on Monday and said that, even after this most challenging period of his Arsenal tenure, he is more motivated than ever. “It's not that I don't really need this anymore,” he said. “I want it even more. I think the good thing of football is that it's unpredictable and the next game is always a discovery and a new adventure and so you focus on that. All the rest is decoration.
“What is important is that you feel you can do your job where you are and I'm very grateful to this club because during the 17 years we had ups and downs, they have always shown a big faith in me and they always let me do the job like I thought it had to be done. If I'm still here today it's because I got that consistent support from inside the club.”
Asked if he would like to stay at Arsenal “forever”, Wenger said: “I would love to be here forever because that would mean I would be immortal! I'm not naive enough to believe that. What I would like to do as long as I am here is give my best for this club because I love this club of course.
“I don't know where the 17 years have gone. Our job has a good advantage - you just look forward to the next game. You never look back. I always said that our job is 'work like you're here forever and know that it can end every day'. That's how I do my job.”
In looking forward, Wenger does genuinely believe that he has a team that can again compete to win the Premier League. “I believe over the years the seasons were always interesting seasons and they were always close and consistent at the top,” he said. “I believe it's much more difficult to stay consistently at the top in our job than people think. I believe that shows at least that we have put the effort in every year with ups and downs of course but a team now who can compete and that's what we want to show.”
Mathieu Flamini (shoulder) and Aaron Ramsey (groin) were both yesterday having final fitness tests but are expected to start tomorrow against Swansea City. Santi Cazorla should also return after the October international fixtures but Theo Walcott now faces being out until November following abdominal surgery on Wednesday. “It went as well as it could go,” said Wenger. “There were no complications. You know sometimes you open and you find an unexpected problem. It was very simple. Optimistically, three weeks out. Realistic, five.”
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