Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has made
it clear he wants manager Arsene Wenger to stay at the club and end the
Gunners’ trophy drought.
French boss Wenger has already been
at the north London side for 17 years, but Arsenal have now entered their ninth
season without silverware, their last major trophy being the 2005 FA Cup.
Arsene Wenger Photo: Arsenal.com
Wenger’s contract is due to expire after the end of the current campaign and there has been speculation regarding the 63-year-old’s long-term future.
But American businessman Kroenke, in
a rare interview with Friday’s Daily Telegraph, made it clear he wanted Wenger
to stay in the post.
“There’s no one I feel more strongly
about and I think he is doing a great job,” Kroenke said.
“We have been very supportive, we
have never wavered, we are proud of him, proud of the club, the way the club is
run and how it holds itself out to the world.”
Wenger, speaking to reporters on
Friday, reacted to the Arsenal owner’s backing by saying: “I am very honoured
to have the support of Stan Kroenke.
“That he thinks I can help the club
is a huge confidence vote. That is something for me that is very positive.”
Following a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa
on the opening day of the season, Arsenal now lead the Premier League on goal
difference from arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur ahead of Saturday’s match against
Swansea City.
Arsenal are also into the group
stage of the Champions League proper while a youthful and largely second-string
side beat top flight-rivals West Bromwich Albion on penalties in the League Cup
on Wednesday.
Wenger said he was relaxed about the
progress of talks regarding an extension of his Arsenal contract.
“The good thing with me, if I have
one quality, (it is that) you don’t need a lot of talks to extend the contract
I have.
“(We will do it) when we find time.
I don’t think that is the most important problem at the moment.”
Wenger, a former coach of Monaco and
Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight, was met with headlines of “Arsene Who?” when he
succeeded Bruce Rioch as Arsenal manager in September 1996.
Wenger, however, said now was not
the time for nostalgia.
“Our job has a good advantage — you
just look forward to the next game. You never look back.”
The club record signing of Germany
international Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for £42.4 million ($66 million, 50
million euros) was a departure from recent Arsenal transfer policy but Kroenke
insisted it had not been motivated by the board.
“I really enjoy Arsene — very smart,
very intelligent. He has an absolute view on how he runs that team and the
club. He has earned that right.
“Don’t look for me to interfere with
that. I have learnt over the years that sometimes owners try do that and it is
not so good.”
Kroenke — whose other sports interests
include running ice hockey team Colorado Avalanche, Major League Soccer’s
Colorado Rapids and the Denver Nuggets NBA basketball side, rejected the view
advanced by some Arsenal fans that he is unconcerned about winning trophies
with the Gunners.
“There would be nothing more
thrilling,” said Kroenke. “I’m not getting any younger,” the 66-year-old added.
“It’s something I would like to
achieve. I’ve done it a couple of times in the US and it was unbelievable.
“For the players, for the coaches
and the manager, as well as everyone around the club, I can’t imagine the level
of excitement.
“The idea that no one cares or is
passionate about that sort of thing is just beyond the realms of imagination.”
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