Soccer: Owner's support seals the deal for Wenger

Arsene Wenger has predicted that talks over extending his contract should be "straightforward" and claimed that Arsenal have "a good chance" to regain the Premier League title provided their season is not marred by injuries.

Last week, majority owner Stan Kroenke said that Wenger was central to his plans for Arsenal and outlined a desire to keep the club's most successful manager for "the long term".

Wenger has previously suggested that he still feels a need to prove himself before committing beyond this season but has now given his clearest indication yet that he wants to sign a deal that will take him into an unprecedented third decade at the club.

"The good thing with me, if I have one quality, you don't need a lot of talks to extend the contract I have," said Wenger. Asked when he would sign the contract, he said: "I don't know. When we find time. I don't think that's the most important problem at the moment.

"I am very honoured to have the support of Stan Kroenke. I said I want to focus on the quality of our season. I will have to analyse whether I do well or not. I'm very hard on myself. We just want to do as well as we can and win something this year. I want to feel that I do well and then the question of me staying will be secondary after that."

Asked if that meant the contract talks would be straightforward, Wenger said: "That's straightforward and I don't think there's anything more to add."

Arsenal were top of the Premier League ahead of last night's fixtures and Wenger believes they are equipped to make their most sustained title challenge for eight years.

"Until 2005 we were a team who could compete every year to win the championship," he said. "After we moved into the new stadium, even if some seasons we were close, maybe we missed that little bit of experience and quality that makes the difference in April. I think if we are in April competing for the championship we will be in a much stronger position than the years before.

"If I tell you we cannot do it then you will tell me I'm completely stupid. It will be down to consistency, getting the injured players back and then I believe we have a good chance. It's the most open season for a while. I would like to give it 10 to 12 games and you will know more."

Tomorrow will be the 17th anniversary of Wenger's arrival at Arsenal and, having turned down the chance to manage Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and England in that period, he revealed why he had stayed.

"I rate what I have here and I always thought that this club is special," he said. "I'm very grateful to this club because, during the 17 years, we had ups and downs and they have always shown a big faith."