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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger could agree a new three-year contract as early as this week as Stan Kroenke jets in to London

The Gunners' majority shareholder will be present at the next board meeting to finalise a new deal for Wenger and discuss their January transfer plans

Jack de Menezes
Monday 20 January 2014 14:09 GMT
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Arsene Wenger could agree a new three-year contract as early as this week after Arsenal's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke flew in to London
Arsene Wenger could agree a new three-year contract as early as this week after Arsenal's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke flew in to London

Arsene Wenger could put pen to paper on a new three-year contract by the end of the week with Arsenal’s majority shareholder Stan Kroenke jetting in to London from his home in Colorado to finalise talks.

Wenger has been linked with a return to France to manager Paris Saint Germain, who have made no attempts at hiding their desire to have the 64-year-old in charge in the future despite manager Laurent Blanc currently enjoying a top of Ligue 1 billing since joining in the summer.

The Gunners’ manager has kept supporters on edge this season with his current contract set to expire at the end of the season, with some fearing that he is targeting a Premier League title-winning swansong before leaving the club after a near-18 year spell with the club.

However, recent reports suggest that an agreement could be imminent, with Wenger himself confirming on Friday that there comes a time when he will have to make a decision regarding his future.

“There is always a point where you have to decide, of course,” Wenger said on the eve of the 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday. “There is a point where you have to decide and there is a point where you have to make your decision public.”

When pushed further for an answer on his current situation, Wenger replied: “You can take of that sentence the way you want it.”

The Daily Mail is claiming that Kroenke has already held talks with chief executive over offering Wenger a new deal, and he will be a presence at the next board meeting later this week where the club’s January transfer plans will also be discussed.

Arsenal are yet to make a move in the transfer window, although they have been heavily linked with a move for either Julian Draxler or Mirko Vucinic. Wenger has reiterated that he would like to add another striker to ease the workload on Olivier Giroud, but that the right signing rarely becomes available in the January window and he is likely to remain inactive this month.

That could change though depending on the outcome of the board meeting, as Kroenke could choose to free-up a significant proportion of the transfer budget to land another big name signing, following the £42.5m acquisition of Mesut Özil in September.

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