Wenger warns Cygan to get tough

Brazilian midfielder Edu also impressed against Stevenage and Wenger said: 'When he didn't play for a long, long time, I was thinking about letting him go - even though I never had any doubts about his qualities.

'If a guy cannot show how good he is, you have to wonder whether he can make it. I gave him a chance at the right period of last season and now he's slowly becoming an important player. That just shows that sometimes you need to be very, very patient.'

David Seaman's decision to sign a contract extension and stay at Highbury for at least one more season came as no surprise to Wenger.

The manager said he had no doubts that England's 38-year-old goalkeeper would recover from his World Cup disappointment to continue his 12-year career at Arsenal.

He said: 'I'm pleased that David has signed the contract but there was never any doubt that he would. I never imagined David leaving Arsenal at this stage of his career and I am sure he will come back stronger and more determined.

'The World Cup was a big disappointment for him but he is determined to come back and keep going - and I also hope that he carries on with England.'

Striker Thierry Henry has given his strongest hint yet that he intends to commit his long-term future to the club. Henry, who was top scorer in the Premiership last season with 24 goals, wants to win the Champions League with the Gunners and then play in the new stadium at Ashburton Grove, which is not due to be ready until 2006.

'I am so happy at Arsenal and I definitely want to play in the new stadium,' he told the club's website. 'What we did last year was incredible and we deserved to win the Double. Now the big thing is to win the Champions League.'

Henry, 24, has two years left on his contract and is expected to begin talks over an extension in the near future.

The Frenchman blamed his miserable World Cup on recently- departed national team coach Roger Lemerre, who asked him to play in an unfamiliar role wide on the left.

'The problem I had at the World Cup was the position in which I was asked to play,' said Henry. 'In three years with France, and also for Arsenal, I have played as a central striker.'

Henry, who failed to score and was sent off in France's second match, said the tournament got off to the worst possible start when Lemerre told the media that he feared for the striker's fitness following the knee injury he suffered towards the end of the English season.

'When Lemerre said that if I did not play in our warm-up match against South Korea he would question my presence in the World Cup, it was my family who called me from France to tell me,' said Henry. 'Nobody in the France camp spoke to me about it.'

Henry's compatriot Nicolas Anelka is looking forward to the forthcoming Premiership campaign and another chance to face his former Arsenal team-mates.

The Manchester City striker, who was on loan at Liverpool for five months last season, said: 'In England, all the fans love their club and that is a mentality which I like. When you are a footballer in France, it is difficult to be like a normal person. Here it is different and it is one of the reasons why French players love living and playing in England.

' The Premiership has not changed much since I was at Arsenal. It is all about pace and scoring goals.'