Still basking in the afterglow of Mesut Ozil's signing, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger cut a relaxed figure on Friday, insisting he is in "no hurry" to open talks over his own future at the club.
The Frenchman - who turns 64 next month and is now the longest-serving manager in the English Premier League - is out of contract at the end of the current campaign, but has indicated he would be open to extending his stay into a 19th year.
Wenger continues to hold the full support of owner Stan Kroenke and the board, with chief executive Ivan Gazidis stressing earlier this summer negotiations would continue quietly behind the scenes.
The Gunners boss proved key in the record-breaking £42million deal bring German international Ozil from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, and has always maintained the continued drive for success on the pitch comes ahead of any speculation over his own future.
Long-time admirers Paris Saint-Germain are said to remain keen on luring Wenger back to his native France, with their decision to only hand new boss Laurent Blanc a 12-month deal only adding fuel to the speculation.
Speaking ahead of his side's league clash at Sunderland, however, Wenger reiterated his contentment with life in North London and said any negotiations would not be rushed.
"We are in no hurry. We are in September and my contract finishes in June. There is a long way to go," he said. "There is no need to plan (any talks). I have said many times I want to do well with this club and in the end I will sit down and think 'how well have I done with the team I have had?' That has to be sufficient for me to decide yes or no.
"One of the main judgments you can have about a manager is how well he does with his team."
Wenger certainly pulled off a transfer coup with bringing in the marquee signing of Ozil. Before the 1-0 win over big-spending Tottenham ahead of the international break, Wenger had seen moves for Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez and Yohan Cabaye all fail to materialise, and only secured the free transfers of Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini, while a loan move for Palermo goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano was also completed on deadline day.
The Arsenal manager, though, was relieved to have finally allayed the criticism he was not ready to spend big for the right player. "When I told you two or three days before (the transfer deadline), I looked a bit lonely when I said I was optimistic, but in the end it happened," said Wenger.
"I thought we had a chance to do it, a small one, but we worked very hard on it until the end. It was very complicated in the end because the timing was short, but on Sunday when I came to the Tottenham game, just at two o'clock I thought we will manage to do it. Before the game I knew we were 90 per cent there."
Wenger added: "What is very important for us is to find world-class players. There are not plenty around. We had to go through some years when I signed a long-term contract where we had some restricted financial potential, and the target was to stay in the Champions League in this period. We managed to do it, and we are now in a strong position financially."
WENGER NO COMMENT ON ARSENAL FUTURE
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