Report: Arsenal Set To Offer Arsene Wenger New Contract

According to the Daily Mirror, Arsenal are set to offer manager Arsene Wenger a new contract. Wenger's current contract expires in two seasons, in 2014, but the Arsenal board and chief executive Ivan Gazidis seem committed to Wenger.

Wenger signed his last contract in 2011, for three years, but perhaps the Arsenal brass have thought about the possible options to replace Wenger after next season, and have decided, reasonably, that none of the options are realistic enough or good enough. This isn't to say that Wenger is perfect; I think every Arsenal fan has a level of critique for the manager, but the board seem to think, and I agree with them here, that he's the best manager for the job.

Arsenal having not won a trophy in 7 years is a monkey on Arsenal's back, and they probably should've picked up a couple of trophies over the past few years, but there is something to be said about consistent Champions League knockout round participation, especially when clubs like Liverpool have failed to do so in the past few seasons, despite spending lots more money. While Gazidis' spiel does seem standard, it's clear that they're thinking about the long-term here:

"The values that Arsene has brought to the club together that the values the club had before Arsene are what will inform us - and I don't want to give any indication that this is happening - and give us the framework as to who might take over from him in the longer term."

In the short-term, there's no better man for the job. People may accuse Wenger of putting money before silverware, but there's two problems with that: 1), Arsenal have always been a team that uses transfers to buy new players and invest in new things (Nicolas Anelka Training Centre at London Colney, anyone?), and 2) That statement seems totally inaccurate with how frustrated Wenger seems when his team doesn't win (the water-bottle throwing). Frankly, this is good news; it makes the post-2014 waters less murky and makes Arsenal's transition from Wenger to a new manager seem less scary.