Ivan Gazidis re-affirmed the board's desire to retain the services of Arsene when his current contract ends, leaving an open interpretation as to whether or not negotiations have taken place:
It's very low key and it will get done at the right time.
Lest anyone doubt why the board are keen to keep the manager,
I think it is very difficult to encapsulate in any succinct way what Arsène Wenger has done for this club," says Gazidis.
His discipline and his vision are why we are in a new stadium and why we are redefining the way the game can be played. He has created a young squad that has a tremendous future without having the resources that some other teams have.
Those achievements are down to Arsène's sense of responsibility not to himself but to the club. When he interviewed for the job, Danny Fiszman asked him what are your ambitions for the club? Arsène said: ‘That when I leave, it will be in a better state than when I arrived.'
I think Arsène has accomplished that but I also think his legacy is not written yet. There's no diminishment in his passion, competitive edge or ambition. Arsène's work is not finished.
Based on some commentary when results were not going the right way, you could be forgiven for believing that this is not the case. Following the home and way defeats to Chelsea, petulance was the order of the day, outright castigation of the manager without looking at the longer-term view, one that should have shown that it was possible for Arsenal to be top this weekend.
It mirrored the absurd observations which followed the release of the club's financial results for the first six months of their current financial year. Those who crave success on the pitch portray themselves as being at odds with the board, quickly forgetting that this aspiration is the same as those they crassly castigate:
The ultimate aspiration is not to produce a wonderful business model, the reason we adhere to those principles is so that we can preserve the values of the club and create the foundation on which we can deliver success on the pitch.
The difference between the viewpoints is that one is sustainable, the other pathetic ramblings, building a house of cards which would collapse in the slightest of chill winds. Half a century ago, Arsenal emerged from World War II, stumbling into a new era with a crumbling stadium and essentially bankrupt. Those who decry the board should remember that some have ties with the club which means they do not forget the problems this caused, underlining why in this age they are determined not to allow it to recur.
Elsewhere,
Gazidis said,
The fundamental issue that we all face is how do we have the courage and the fortitude to control our spending in a fairly irrational environment. If you can manage that there's no reason why anybody in the end can't have a long term stable business in the end.
This ties in with the current moves within the world game to stabilise clubs financial standings, driven by Uefa's contempt for the power wielded by the major European outfits. The big spending craved is not going to happen. Arsenal's board believes it has two duties: ensuring that the club is fit to survive off the pitch and giving the manager the ‘tools' to build squads who can deliver silverware,
After the days of the money culture, I think people are looking for something more meaningful in their lives.
I think a football club is a community of shared values. Our ultimate objective has to be to win trophies – it's critical – but equally critical to us is to do it in a way that will make our fans and community proud.
