Arsenal board ‘high’ on Arsene Wenger, says Stan Kroenke
Kroenke said the club’s board was “very high” on their manager and stressed what a difficult act to follow he would be.
“You see it (at United),” Kroenke said at the club’s agm yesterday. “It’s very hard. We are all very high on Arsene. I know a number of (sports team) owners that are very successful that say the same thing; the hardest thing to do is be consistently competitive at the top of the league. Arsene has always done that and Arsenal has always been in that position. We have always been competitive.”
Wenger’s current deal expires at the end of the campaign and the club want him to extend his 20-year spell in north London. Club chairman Chips Keswick was questioned about the Frenchman’s contract situation at the agm.
He said: “We all recognise the fantastic contribution Arsene has made to the club in last 20 years. We are confident about his ability to take us forward. We will sit down and discuss the future at the appropriate time but our focus is on maintaining the current run and competing for trophies.”
Wenger himself was giving little away, other than confirming he would not still be in charge in another 20 years.
He opened his speech with a joke, saying: “Yes, it’s 20 years. I’m sorry! I would like to apologise for every minute I made you suffer in these 20 years — but you don’t look too bad for people who have suffered for 20 years. I am sorry for the boy who was born 20 years ago and has only known one manager. I would like to reassure him that when he is 40, he will know a few more.”
Wenger then went on to state Arsenal should mount a challenge for the Premier League title this season, and set them a points target of between 82 and 86.
“I believe we have a competitive team in a very competitive league. After nine games we have 20 points, which means the championship will be decided between 82 to 86 points.
“I believe the team has the commitment, togetherness, hunger, desire and unity and we have a good chance to compete for the Premier League.”
There was a close call for majority shareholder Kroenke with the room divided over whether to keep him on as a director, but a second show of hands went in his favour. Meanwhile, Keswick defended the salary and bonus paid to club chief executive Ivan Gazidis. “We are lucky to have him,” he said.
Wenger’s training schedule for tonight’s EFL Cup clash with Reading was disrupted by the agm but, in his speech to shareholders, the Gunners boss revealed his desire to get through to the quarter-finals.
“Our challenge is to compete for everything,” he said. “I believe we have a squad more mature and better equipped to cope with the challenges we have.”
Youngsters Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, and Chuba Akpom could feature, along with Spanish forward Lucas Perez.
Reading captain and Irish international Paul McShane says “the shackles are off” as they put their primary objective of promotion on hold.
McShane said: “You want to be playing against big clubs like Arsenal week in, week out in the Premier League...so the league has got to be a priority. But that makes Tuesday night’s match a bonus game. The shackles are off.”
