Wenger determined to maintain full control

ARSENE Wenger has ruled out working alongside a director of football if he stays on as Arsenal manager, saying he must have full control of the Premier League club.

The Frenchman’s hardline stance puts him on a potential collision course with members of the Arsenal hierarchy who reportedly want to bring in a director of football this summer to work with Wenger.

Wenger has called the shots at the north London club since he joined in 1996 and said he had no interest in having his authority diminished, even as his future remains mired in uncertainty and with the fans restless.

“I’m the manager of Arsenal Football Club, and as long as I’m manager of Arsenal Football Club I will decide what happens on the technical front, that’s it,” Wenger, 67, said on the eve of tonight’s league match at Southampton (at 1:45am Cambodian time).

“I don’t k now what director of football means. Is it somebody who stands in t he road and directs play right and lef t? I don’t understand and I never did understand what it means.”

Wenger previously said that he had made up his mind about his future and would announce it in March or April, but no announcement came.

His Arsenal contract expires at the end of this season, and while a fresh deal is reportedly on the table, some Arsenal fans have called for his head after a disappointing run that saw them humiliated in the Champions League to Bayern Munich and fall out of the Premier League top four.

Asked yesterday if he would now reveal his decision over whether to sign the contract, he replied simply: “No.”

Arsenal are in danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in Wenger’s long reign, even though Sunday’s 2-0 win over Manchester United moved them to within six points of fourth-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.

While the Premier League and Europe has been a source of frustration, Arsenal will contest their third FA Cup final in four seasons later this month.