The Arsenal board is set to rubber-stamp Arsène Wenger’s new two-year contract after meeting on Tuesday morning, as part of a detailed discussion about the club’s direction, and announce on Wednesday that the Frenchman is to remain at the club. Wenger’s future was due to be at the top of the agenda, since the subject has dominated the season, but vying for prominence were an examination of budgets, which will take in how much the manager has to spend on transfers over the summer.
Wenger was present and joined by the majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, his son Josh, the chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, the directors Ken Friar and Lord Harris of Peckham and the club secretary, David Miles. They looked back together on the season, which ended on a high with Saturday’s FA Cup final victory over Chelsea but fell short in the Premier League, where the team finished fifth. Nobody at the club was happy with the league position, which meant they failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1997-98. The stated aim of Kroenke and Gazidis is to win the title and all are united in the desire to improve and challenge for it.
Wenger’s future has been the subject of fierce debate for most of the season and he admitted after the FA Cup final the uncertainty had had an impact on the season. He said: “For me the contract does not have a special meaning but, because of the debate, I should have sorted that out earlier.”
Gazidis, the chief executive, has pushed his “catalyst for change” agenda over the past three months or so as he feels certain structures around the manager have to change and improve.
Wenger has railed against some of the suggestions, particularly anything that impacts on his control over technical matters, but there is not expected to be any conflict at the meeting. The discussions have been ongoing behind the scenes for months and so there is thought to be little scope for any surprises. Wenger made it clear after the Cup final victory that he not only wanted to continue for another cycle but he felt he was the right man to lead the club forward. When asked if he would make a presentation at the board meeting, he replied: “The best presentation? Watch the game [against Chelsea] and there can be no doubt.”
