Arsene Wenger not interested in lucrative move to China should he leave Arsenal at the end of the season

Wenger wants to remain managing in Europe and is uninterested in moves to China or the UAE

Wenger wants to remain in Europe (Getty)

Arsene Wenger will reject any offers he receives from the Chinese Super League and wants to continue managing in Europe should he leave Arsenal in the summer, according to reports.

The Frenchman’s Arsenal contract expires at the end of the current season and, as he revealed in a press conference last week, he is giving serious consideration to leaving the club after 21 years in charge.

Wenger shot down rumours he will retire at the end of the season and insisted that “no matter what happens I will manage next season – whether it is here or somewhere else”, putting a number of clubs on standby.

According to the Daily Mail, the cash-rich Chinese Super League have already made discrete enquiries into Wenger’s availability, keen to add Wenger to their roster of high-profile managers, which currently includes Andre-Villas Boas, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Manuel Pellegrini and Fabio Cannavaro.

Wenger is also attracting interest from teams in the UAE Arabian Gulf League. Any move to either China or the UAE would see Wenger poised to earn significantly more than his current £8m-a-year deal at the Emirates Stadium.

A number of high-profile managers are working in China (Getty)

However it has been reported that Wenger’s preference is to remain managing in Europe prior to eventually retiring, with the 67-year-old closely monitoring potential opportunities at Barcelona and PSG respectively.

Should results improve before the end of the season there remains a possibility that Wenger will sign a contract extension at Arsenal, which defender Laurent Koscielny has urged his manager to consider.

Koscielny was interviewed on French radio about Wenger’s contract situation and expressed a desire for the Frenchman to remain in north London.

Koscielny wants his manager to stay at the club (Getty)

"I would wish that he will prolong it [his deal]," Koscielny told French radio station RMC Sport.

"It has been seven years that I have been under his command, and I am very respected by him.

"It is him who gave me that chance to come here. He helped me grow as a player and as a man. I owe him a lot for my career."