'DISCREET' ... Arsene Wenger
Far from denying it, Wenger just said: “Please allow me
to remain discreet on this matter.” Perez is the overwhelming
favourite to win next month’s presidential election at the
Bernabeu. Wenger added: “With Perez, the project will be greatly
interesting for all the managers.”
Frenchman Wenger took over at Arsenal in September 1996
and has NEVER walked out on a club before the end of his contract.
But this time, he would only say: “In general, I always go to the
end of my contract.”
The TF1 report also claimed Wenger held a meeting with
Perez in a hotel in Paris last Tuesday. But after the goalless draw
with Manchester United on Saturday, Wenger insisted he was looking
forward to challenging the Red Devils for the title next season.
And Wenger has already told United boss Alex Ferguson: “We’ll be
fighting you for the title next season.”
The fourth-placed Gunners are 18 points behind
champions United in the table and were soundly thumped 4-1 by
Fergie’s men in the Champions League semi-finals. But amidst the
noisy celebrations of United’s 18th title win on Saturday, Wenger
said: “We will be challenging them next season. You cannot see what
we saw at Old Trafford and say we cannot achieve that.
“We had seven players 22 years old on the pitch. Why
should we not hope to be even better next year? “It was very
important we played well in this game. I knew that for the future
of the team it was important to give a strong response
here.”
And he claimed striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who missed
the trip to United through injury, will stay. Wenger added: “The
players are under contract unless we decide otherwise. At the
moment, everyone will stay.”