Wenger insists he is not leaving Arsenal

Frenchman says he wants to stay on at the Emirates after contract expires in 2014

Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger wants to stay in north London. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters
Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger wants to stay in north London. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Arsene Wenger says he would consider prolonging his stay at Arsenal beyond 2014 if he and the club felt that targets were being met but maintained he was preoccupied simply with the battle to secure a top-four finish this season.

Wenger takes his team to Queens Park Rangers today for a game in which he feels victory is “compulsory,” with the margin for error non-existent in the quest to pip Chelsea, Tottenham or both to Champions League qualification.

He is frustrated by what he called “a lot of disturbance with the environment”, in terms of the speculation about his potential summer signings and the fact that Paris Saint-Germain would like to take him for next season.

Wenger has consistently said he will honour his Arsenal contract, which expires in the summer of next year but he did speak for the first time about what could happen thereafter.

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“I want to stay if I do well and if I consider, or the club considers, that I do well, that is all,” he said. “I want this club to do well, that is my basic feeling. We have gone through a period that was very sensitive and we are coming out of it now, in a much stronger position.”

Wenger is seeking a 16th consecutive appearance in the Champions League and is 99 per cent certain that three wins from their three remaining games will get them there. After QPR, Arsenal face Wigan Athletic at home and Newcastle United away.

"If we win all of our games, we've made 73 points," he said, noting that 70 was sufficient for them to finish third last season. "If we're not in the Champions League with 73 points . . . it's unlikely and if it happened, at least you would have done your job."
Guardian Service