Arsene Wenger Alludes to Staying Past 2014

Arsene Wenger today ruled out a summer move to PSG while also alluding to the possibility that his stay on the sidelines with Arsenal could very well run past the 2013-2014 season, the last year of his current contract with the club. Wenger has always maintained a level of loyalty to the club that he's guided, and he firmly shut the door on the speculation seeing him flirting with the Parisian outfit and, further, Wenger goes as far as to say that 2014 isn't an end-game for his run at Arsenal:

"I answered that question already. I respect my contracts. I want to stay [on past 2014] if I do well and if I consider or the club considers that I do well, that is all. I want this club to do well, that is my basic feeling.

As he mentioned earlier this week, he's a man who honors his contracts and with today's comments being the second time in five days he's told the press he's staying at Arsenal until at least 2014, hopefully - hopefully! - the rumors die a quick death. Additionally, since it's been a rather interesting topic around here the past few days, Wenger also planted a few transfer seeds in the dirt with the hope that with enough care and nurturing, they'll grow, prosper and become a sustainable crop of players come harvest time this summer. Or something like that:

"We have gone through a period that was very sensitive, we are coming out of it now, in a much stronger position financially. I believe the club is in a very strong position for the future."

...

"I believe a big club should be run where everybody does his job and I try to do my job. The only thing I can say is that I do it with a lot of commitment and a lot of loyalty. I try to do as well as a I can for this club," he said. "I believe that this club is today in a very, very strong position and has gone through a very sensitive period in a very intelligent way. After that, everything is here to have a great future. "We have a good fanbase, we have now a strong financial situation, we have good young players and a squad with a bright future with the quality of the young players we have. It is just to manage it well now."

The timing of these comments, on the cusp of the end of the season knowing a Champions League place is far from secure, makes me believe that there's a strong - very strong - feeling that the club are poised to be extremely active in the transfer market, regardless of final table position. His comments have nothing to do with the results on the pitch, but rather with the financial position the club has and will strengthen over the short-term, while hinting at the delicate nature of the transition from Highbury to Ashburton Grove. A 5th place finish and a spot in the Europa League shouldn't hurt them in recruiting the targets they've probably already identified for this summer (again, look at Tottenham and Liverpool for examples of this), but a finish of at least 4th would make the summer transfer window an even-easier task for Wenger in his goal to "just to manage it well now."