Before I forget, Thierry Henry told Arsenal he was leaving three weeks before the end of the season.
As we now know, Henry’s departure had more to do with his divorce than with David Dein leaving, even though Henry is close to the Dein family. Too close, in my view.
Arsene Wenger is 57 and I’ve always believed he will extend his contract and do three more years. At least.
Interestingly, perhaps, The News of the World said it’s a four year deal with three get-out clauses at the end of years one, two and three !
Maybe that is what is on the table. If so, it’s bizarre, since AW has always said you are either in or out of a project. To Arsene a contract is not a maybe.
Peter Hill-Wood said: “Hopefully in the near future we’ll have something positive to say. I’m confident he’ll stay.
“We had a fairly lengthy conversation recently and that went very well.”
The chairman claimed that Arsenal are well-equipped to challenge for trophies next season.
“I believe we’ve never been in a better position. I think the team is absolutely first class. We had some very good results last year against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, the sides we didn’t overhaul in the league but played pretty well against when we faced them. It’s a young side still but they’re a year older now so they’re going to be that much better.”
Hill-Wood, a retired banker who has been chairman since 1982, is an upper class Etonian who would never admit that his football club is short of cash. Banking depends on trust and credibility. If people think a bank is short of cash then that bank is in big trouble, so Hill-Wood thinks and talks like the banker he has always been.
Inevitably, he denied suggestions that AFC are being hampered by the debts incurred by building the Emirates Stadium.
“It’s actually the reverse. Relocating to the Emirates has increased the income of the club. The stadium has not held Arsenal back at all in terms of bringing in players. It’s actually given us the opportunity to compete with the biggest clubs in the world. If we had stayed at Highbury that would have limited our resources and over the long term affected our ability to financially compete with the top sides.”