Arsene Wenger appears to have won his power struggle with the Arsenal board and has agreed to sign a new two-year deal that will keep him at the north London club until 2019, according to the BBC.
The long-serving Frenchman’s future has dominated the Arsenal agenda this season with his current contract due to expire in the coming weeks.
Wenger is reported to have met with majority shareholder Stan Kroenke on Monday ahead of a full board meeting on Tuesday, at which he was given key assurances over his say in the club’s transfer business.
The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that several members of the Arsenal board held concerns over Wenger’s notorious dithering in the transfer market, citing his decision to switch attention to completing an ultimately unsuccessful move for Luis Suarez, with a deal already in place for Gonzalo Higuain, in the summer of 2013 as perfect example of one of his major flaws.
Earlier this season, amid a disastrous run of form which torpedoed Arsenal’s Premier and Champions League hopes, chief executive Ivan Gazidis claimed results would act as a catalyst for change this summer.
Wenger subsequently ruled out working alongside a director of football, saying: ‘I don’t know what director of football means. Is it somebody who stands in the road and directs play right and left? I don’t understand and I never did understand what it means.
‘I’m the manager of Arsenal Football Club and, as long as I’m manager of Arsenal Football Club, I will decide what happens on the technical front. That’s it.’
And according to the Daily Telegraph, Wenger will continue to have the decisive say on new signings, player departures and new contracts ahead of what is likely to be a hectic summer of activity.
The contracts of his two star players, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, expire next summer and both are courted by a number of European heavyweights, while the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are in an identical situation.
Despite missing out on Champions League qualification for the first time in Wenger’s reign, the Arsenal manager is expected to armed with a substantial summer transfer kitty in the region of £100 million.
COMMENTS