In the Telegraph today, Ivan Gazidis shed a bit of light on the ongoing talks between the club and long-standing manager Arsene Wenger and, surprise (!!!), he anticipates the club and the manager will hammer out an extension very soon and behind closed doors, away from the press:
"We think we have got a fantastic manager," said Gazidis. "We hope that he wants to do what he is doing for the long term. I believe he does. I think he is still ambitious, still driven and sees the potential of the club as he looks forward and I think he is very excited by that.
"We have got a lot of confidence in Arsene that he is the right person to take the club forward and I think he will want to do that.
...
"We have a great relationship and he has a great relationship with the board as well. So, quietly and at the right time, I think we will make an announcement on that
"What I really don't want to do is have a public discussion about Arsene's contractual position. That would be a daily, weekly fixture on the public coverage if you start getting into that.
"This is going to happen very quietly behind closed doors, privately and then there will be an announcement."
For all the Arsene Wenger bashers out there, like Piers Morgan (who, may I remind you again, wanted Harry Redknapp to replace Wenger both last season and the one before it), this may be a touch of bad news before another beautiful upcoming summer weekend, but for those who've come to appreciate what Wenger has brought to the club and achieved in the face of financial doping, this is excellent news. I understand that we may miss out on a manager of Jurgen Klopp's ilk if we extend Wenger for another three years past 2014, but remember that he's not the last great young manager we'll ever see or dream of getting once Wenger retires to the Board.
And, last, for those who think that Arsenal or Wenger will break an upcoming agreement early in order to capitalize on each of their Next Great Big Endeavors, may I remind you that loyalty is an Arsenal trait. The club stresses it, have stressed it well before most of us were alive and fans cherish players who respect and honor it. We cursed the players who forced a move away before their agreement with the club expired, and rightfully so. Any supporter who rues the club's stance regarding seeing out a future agreement till its expiration date is a touch hilarious and sustaining a massive double-standard, considering those same people are more than likely singing rather vile terrace songs about players who've broken a commitment early.