Wenger given two more years to fulfil Arsenal title dream
Manager’s new contract to be confirmed today Assurances over sporting structure decisive in deal
Arsène Wenger has agreed a new two-year contract worth £16million to remain Arsenal manager until at least 2019, extending his tenure at the club into an unprecedented 23rd season.
The deal was finalised with majority owner Stan Kroenke in the 72 hours after his record-breaking seventh FA Cup win on Saturday, and formally ratified at a board meeting yesterday that also reviewed a season that ended on a high but culminated with the lowest Premier League finish under Wenger of fifth.
As revealed by The Daily Telegraph ahead of the final Premier League game of the season against Everton, Wenger paved the way for staying after being reassured that changes proposed to the sporting structure by chief executive Ivan Gazidis would not impact on his core decision-making.
An official announcement will be made today, when Wenger and Kroenke are expected to outline their vision and determination to make Arsenal challenge once again for the Premier League title.
The Cup final was never going to be decisive in Kroenke’s and Wenger’s decision and, although there is a desire now to address what went so wrong in February and March, the overall context of three FA Cup wins in four years and league positions of fourth, third, second and fifth in that time were also taken into account, as was the wider atmosphere around the club.
Wenger complained of a “horrendous psychological” environment for his players this season, with some fans having launched protests before games and even twice flown a banner over the ground. He was especially hurt at the abuse he and some players received during and after the Crystal Palace defeat last month.
Kroenke has been hugely impressed by the way Wenger turned the season around, and his former defender, Martin Keown, said yesterday that the Frenchman’s resilience was often underestimated. “This guy is a fighter,” Keown told the BBC. “He told me he was fighting every day in the playground at school. He is a scrapper and a survivor – more of a fighter and scrapper than people will ever think.”
Reservations among fans about the new contract were reflected yesterday in questions posed by the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust. They wanted to know why the Wenger announcement was not made earlier, whether this would be his final contract, if the contract was unanimously agreed by directors and what succession plans were in place.
They also sought more detail following fan meetings with Gazidis and his promise that this summer should be a “catalyst for change”. Gazidis has followed that up by looking at candidates for a new sporting director/operations role to coordinate and streamline the work around Wenger on issues ranging from scouting and medicine to youth development and analytics.
It has been a sensitive subject for Wenger, who openly mocked the purpose of a director of football, but was reassured after being told that his key powers – coaching, picking the team and directing the transfer strategy – would not be affected. He also did not want any of his staff to leave against his will, although there is expected to be a minor shake-up this summer to the backroom team. Full details of wider structural changes will not be announced today.
Although there has clearly been some tension over the best way forward, Gazidis and Wenger have been working together closely in recent weeks and that partnership is poised to continue, as is the role of transfer negotiator Dick Law.
As well as Wenger’s position, the approach to the transfer window and key contract negotiations were discussed yesterday. Wenger has said the club needed to keep “90 per cent” of the squad together and then make one or two key signings to challenge to win the Premier League. They have already signed Schalke’s Sead Kolasinac but, as well as Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez, they are facing contract negotiations with other players who have only one year remaining, notably Alex Oxlade-chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs and Mathieu Debuchy.
Arsenal are ready to offer both Özil and Sánchez deals of around £280,000 a week. Sánchez is attracting interest from clubs including Manchester City and Chelsea in the Premier League and Paris St-germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus across Europe. Oxladechamberlain’s situation is being monitored by Liverpool and, although there is little chance of Héctor Bellerín leaving this summer, Barcelona are interested.