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| Arsene Wenger has signed a new two-year deal |
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has signed a new two-year deal at the club.
The contract does not include a break clause and, should it be completed, will extend his reign to 23 years.
Neither Arsenal nor Wenger, 67, see this as definitely being his final contract.
The Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League this season, the first time they have finished outside the top four since the Frenchman joined in 1996.
They finished 18 points behind champions Chelsea, but beat the Blues 2-1 to win the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday.
Wenger met club owner Stan Kroenke on Monday to determine his future, with the decision relayed to directors at a Tuesday board meeting and an official announcement expected on Wednesday.
A reign of two halves
Wenger led the Gunners to three Premier League titles and four FA Cups in his first nine seasons in charge.
In 2003-04, he became the first manager since 1888-89 to lead a team through an entire top-flight season unbeaten.
But after winning the 2005 FA Cup, they had to wait another nine years - or 3,283 days - for their next silverware. It came as they beat Hull City to win the 2014 FA Cup, before winning the trophy again the following year.
Arsenal are have not won the Premier League in 13 years and in 11 of those seasons have finished 10 or more points adrift of the champions.
Arsenal have not qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years - and many would believe an FA Cup triumph would be the perfect parting point, allowing Wenger to go out on a high and a successor to usher in the new era.
Wenger does not think in those terms. He is the eternal optimist who has never felt Arsenal were far away from recreating a title-winning team, even though the evidence against has piled up before him.
A section of Arsenal's support have organised protest marches and made their discontent clear as Wenger's side once again failed to halt a barren title sequence stretching back to "The Invincibles" season of 2003/04 - with the manager describing some of his treatment as "a disgrace".
However, he is committed as ever, even after 1,175 games as Arsenal manager, 676 wins and a remarkable win percentage of 57.5% - but did Saturday start a new era of success that can emulate his early glories, or will he simply face the same criticism again at the first sign of trouble next season?
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