Wenger plans ahead but won’t reveal future plans

Britain Football Soccer - AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal - Premier League - Vitality Stadium - 3/1/17 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger before the match Action Images via Reuters / Matthew Childs Livepic 

Arsene Wenger insists he is working on Arsenal’s future even though he still won’t reveal whether he plans to remain in charge after this season.

Wenger is out of contract at the end of the current campaign and has not signed a new deal amid calls for his resignation from Arsenal fans frustrated at their team’s disappointing form in recent years.

Asked yesterday if there was any news on his future, the Frenchman said: “No, no”, and repeated the response when pressed on whether he had any idea when an announcement will be made.

And as for whether any decision would be based around how Arsenal perform over the final few weeks of the season, the answer once again was “no”.

The 67-year-old gave himself a little breathing space by leading Arsenal to the FA Cup final against Chelsea thanks to Sunday’s 2-1 semifinal win over Manchester City at Wembley.

But, with Arsenal struggling to qualify for the Champions League via a top-four finish in the Premier League, Wenger knows it would only take a loss against Leicester tonight to spark renewed criticism of his reign.

Even so, reports suggest he is leaning towards staying and he seemed to validate those suggestions when he talked about looking at transfer targets for next season.

“I work until the last day of the season for the future,” he said.

“Transfer targets are important for the future of the club. That (my future) is secondary, the future of the club is important.”

Wenger’s side host Leicester knowing a victory would move them back up to sixth, three points behind Manchester United and four behind Manchester City, who play each other on Thursday.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be involved against the Foxes despite leaving Wembley on crutches.

The England midfielder took a kick to his foot against City and will be assessed before Wenger names his squad.

“It was precautionary. It is not a bad injury. Nobody was really injured after the game,” Wenger said.

“Overall, that win will give us a bit more confidence."

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