LONDON (AFP) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that he is
still unsure whether German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann will be with
the Gunners next season.
The 37-year-old Lehmann will be a free agent in the summer and, as
such, could sign a pre-contract agreement at another foreign
club.
Formal talks over a new deal have not yet taken place, with the
player keen on the security of a deal longer than the 12 months the
Gunners appear set to offer.
Wenger would like Lehmann to stay at the Emirates Stadium but he
insists the club will not waiver from their normal stance of
one-year extensions for their senior players.
"I had a meeting with him. At the moment, we have to sit down again
to decide about that (contract)," said Wenger.
"Ideally, I would like him to stay. But I do not know yet. You have
to wait.
"He will not get more than one year. What can change is somebody
can offer him three years."
Wenger accepts it is a risk to leave negotiations so late, but
maintained off-field issues would not hamper the German´s
performances.
"That is a risk I take," said the Arsenal manager, who knows there
are plenty of clubs ready to offer Lehmann his preferred terms.