Premier League: Arsene Wenger signs new contract with Arsenal

Arsenal have finally ended the suspense over the future of manager Arsene Wenger, they decided to offer him a two-year contract and the Frenchman accepted. Arsene Wenger has managed Arsenal for 21 years and his contract was set to expire at the end of the current season. Wenger had a meeting with club owner Stan Kroenke on Monday to discuss the future of the club and then on Tuesday the club board decided to extend the manager's contract for another couple of years. The club will make an official announcement on Wednesday. Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League this campaign, their first finish outside of the top four since 1996, when Arsene Wenger became their manager. The fans were hoping for a title challenge but Chelsea finished 18 points clear of Arsenal. The Gunners did get some sort of satisfaction after beating the Blues 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday, but numerous fans were already calling for Wenger's resignation regardless of the outcome of the match at Wembley. Arsene Wenger had a successful reign at Arsenal during the first nine years of his tenure, the club won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups during that period. Then, after the 2005 FA Cup, came a drought of nine years without a trophy. Arsenal went on to win three FA Cups between 2014 and 2017, but the Premier League title remained a distant memory and a target that always seemed outside of the Gunners' reach. The first order of business for the manager will be to offer contract extensions to Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, probably the best players in the squad at the moment. Arsenal are 12/1 at Bet365 to win the Premier League title next season.