Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has revealed he has held talks with Arsene Wenger about his future.
Wenger's long-term future has been the subject of speculation all summer with the Frenchman yet to agree a new deal.
Arsenal are keen to tie down Wenger to a new long-term deal as he has just over 12 months to run on his current contract.
Wenger had been mentioned as a possible target for Real Madrid before Bernd Schuster was appointed at El Santiago Bernabeu.
Hill-Wood remains confident that Wenger will pledge his future to Arsenal by signing a new deal.
"We had a fairly lengthy conversation recently and that went very well," Hill-Wood told the club's official website.
"Hopefully, in the not too distant future we'll have something positive to say about it.
"I'm confident he'll stay. I very much hope he will. It's very important. He's done a marvellous job here. He looks pretty fit to me and I think he enjoys himself still. He's got a good job and I'm hoping he'll stay with us."
Hill-Wood is also optimistic that Arsenal can enjoy a successful campaign this coming season despite the loss of Thierry Henry.
"If you tune into the media, you would believe it's been a difficult summer but I think people have not really looked behind what's happened," added Hill-Wood.
"I'm very relaxed. I think we've got a very good squad and we've added a few players, most of them not names people have heard of before.
"But that's very much Arsene Wenger's style. People hadn't really heard of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira or Cesc Fabregas before they arrived.
"I believe we've never been in a better position. I think the team are absolutely first class.
"They are a young side but they're a year older now so they're going to be that much better."
Source : www.skysports.com
By Peter ORourke - Created on 16 Jul 2007
