Gazidis – Wenger puts Arsenal above his own needs, and will stay for ever!

The Arsenal director Ivan Gazidis can see absolutely no reason why Arsene Wenger can’t carry on as manager of the Gunners “for a very long time” and revealed that he has recently had a meeting with the Frenchman to plan the Arsenal team in 5 years time!

Gazidis said: “Arsene’s only 62 and in great shape and I don’t sense any weakening of his desire. Nobody knows what the future holds but it is entirely possible that he will be with the club for a long time to come.”

Recently Wenger seemed to indicate that he planning for short-term success, but Gazidis disagrees that that is Wenger’s only aim. “I read that but the conversation I had with him in Athens was talking about squad planning for 2016-17,” he said. “I know what he meant by talking about the short term. He wants to be successful and that’s important.

“At the same time he cares about this club so deeply, he’s thinking about things that will only impact the club after he has gone.

“That is very unusual — not unique — but very unusual. Football is a very volatile world. One of the great advantages we have through our continuity — and Manchester United have this in Sir Alex Ferguson — is that we have a manager who actually puts the club above his own self interest.

“It is a privilege to work with Arsène. He is an extraordinary individual with an unbelievable commitment to the club.”

Gazidis was then asked if Wenger would be promoted to the board level when he finally decided on a successor as manager, but he said that won’t be for some time yet: “That transition, whenever it happens, will be very significant for the club. I cant predict exactly how. It certainly isn’t happening in the foreseeable future.

“You’ll always have significant challenge when a giant like Arsène does decide to move on to something new. The strength of Arsène and the club is that the thought process is seamless. A lot of discussions are about things that will be in place after he’s gone. His departure wouldn’t invalidate that. His knowledge and vision is embedded into the club. It is hard-wired into us.”

So those fickle Arsenal fans that have been calling for Wenger’s head had better get used to the idea that he is going nowhere for the forseeable future……