Our French manager has completed 20 years in charge at Arsenal, and according to the vibes coming out of yesterday’s AGM it would seem that there is the wish amongst the owner and Board that he can carru on in charge for many more seasons.
Just in his opening address, not-so-Silent Stan Kroenke, said: “One of the main reasons we got involved is the values and traditions of the club and no one has represented them better than Arsene,”
“You [Wenger] brought a new style to English football and our club. Amid a world subject to great scrutiny and pressure, you have always handled yourself with great class. We are excited about the club and season. We know we will compete for trophies and we would like nothing better than to see you win the championship.”
That was at the beginning, and again after the AGM, Kroenke praised Wenger and indicated he wanted him to extend his contract: “He’s a great manager. He’s been a wonderful influence on the club. I know a number of owners who are very successful who say the same thing: the hardest thing to do is be consistently competitive at the top of the league. Arsene has always done that and Arsenal has always been in that position. We have always been competitive.
“We may not always win the things we want to win. We are very focused on winning for sure the league. Arsene’s been consistently at the top and I will tell you; it’s very, very hard to do if you look around sports.”
Can you get higher praise than that from your boss? It sounds like Wenger is going to get a pay rise! But what do the rest of the Board think? The reporters then spoke to the Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick, who said. “Kroenke’s admiration for Wenger was obvious, and the goodwill on the top table gave no indication that anyone at board level has any desire to see a change of manager any time soon.”
So it would appear that the only way we will see Wenger leaving will be when he decides to retire.Surely no one is going to complain about that?
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