Pires warning to rivals

Steve Stammers|Adrian Warner|Evening Standard

14 April 2012

Arsene Wenger's decision to extend his contract at Arsenal until 2008 was today hailed by Robert Pires who said it was a declaration of intent against the rest of the Premiership.

Wenger announced yesterday that he would sign a new deal "within days" and Standard Sport understands he is preparing to put pen to paper on a three year extension to his agreement, which has a year left to run.

The official confirmation could come as early as tomorrow when Arsenal hold their annual general meeting at Highbury and is certain to delight shareholders who have seen Wenger assemble what is arguably the most talented allround squad the club has ever had.

It will also encourage his French stars such as Pires, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, who have two years of their contracts left to run, to commit their futures to Arsenal.

Pires said: "This is very good news. Arsene Wenger has done a fantastic job and is a tremendous manager. There are a lot of challenges still in front of him and the club - the new stadium and the Champions League are among them.

"This new contract is the best sign the club can show for their ambition. As long as Arsene Wenger is the boss, Arsenal will be a very ambitious club."

The deal will give Wenger at least two years in charge of Arsenal after they move into their new home at Ashburton Grove for the start of the 2006-07 season. The club revealed yesterday that the new stadium will be called the Emirates Stadium in an agreement with the airline worth up to £00 million. The Dubai based company, who are currently Chelsea's shirt sponsors, will sponsor the Highbury club's shirts for eight years from the 2006-07 season.

Vieira and Pires are with the French squad at the country's football academy at Clairfontaine ahead of Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Ireland.

Vieira also welcomed news of the sponsorship deal and added: "This is excellent. It will help the club immensely and shows how much they want to achieve."

Meanwhile, the background to Arsenal's ground-breaking deal emerged today with the revelation that it was sponsors Emirates who made the running for the stadiumand-shirt package despite their strong links with Chelsea.

Standard Sport has learned that the airline, whose five-year shirt deal with Chelsea runs until the end of the season, surprised Highbury executives by suggesting the idea of a shirt deal during an Arsenal presentation last June aimed primarily at selling the name rights to their new stadium.

One source said: "Everybody seemed to connect. Emirates made the suggestion about the shirts."

Pires warning to rivals

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