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LONDON. — Arsene Wenger has agreed a new three-year contract with Arsenal, which will keep him at the English Premiership soccer club until 2017. Wenger had gone nearly nine years without winning a trophy until Arsenal won their dramatic FA Cup final against Hull City on May 17. “Arsenal Holdings plc confirms that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has signed a new three-year extension to his current contract with Arsenal Football Club plc, a wholly owned subsidiary, taking his tenure at the club to May 2017,” said a statement issued by the Gunners’ parent company to the London Stock Exchange.
Arsenal forward Theo Walcott tweeted: “Great news on the boss signing!!! Exciting times ahead #AFC”.
And Wenger said: “I want to stay and to continue to develop the team and the club. We are entering a very exciting period. We have a strong squad, financial stability and huge support around the world. We are all determined to bring more success to this club.
“The club has always shown faith in me and I’m very grateful for that. We have gone through fantastic periods and also periods where we have had to stick together. Every time when that togetherness was tested, I got the right response.”
Arsenal have handed Wenger a £100 million transfer war chest, the biggest transfer budget in the club’s history to try to help him win the Premier League title for the first time since 2004. Wenger (64) has led Arsenal to eight major trophies since joining them in September 1996. This season, he guided the Gunners to a 17th consecutive Champions League qualification and ended a nine-year wait for silverware with victory over Hull City in the FA Cup final. The Frenchman, who moved to the club from Japanese outfit Grampus Eight, was in the final year of his current contract.
Arsenal had not lifted a major domestic trophy since 2005 prior to the recent FA Cup triumph, although they did reach the Champions League final in 2006.
There had been speculation that Wenger, who has led the Gunners into the Champions League for 17 straight seasons, could leave, with reported links with his former club Monaco. Nigel Winterburn, who played under Wenger between 1987-2000, told Sky Sports News: “It’s good news for me and the club. I’ve always supported Arsene Wenger, particularly through the last few seasons when he was under pressure, with the team not winning a trophy.”
Wenger’s record at Arsenal
Premier League: 1998, 2002, 2004
FA Cup: 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014
Charity/Community Shield: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004
Champions League runners-up: 2006
Uefa Cup runners-up: 2000
League Cup runners-up: 2007, 2011. — Sky Sports-BBC Sport.
Online Reporter