Granit Xhaka says he is convinced Arsene Wenger will stay at Arsenal next season.
The Arsenal manager told Standard Sport on Saturday after a 3-1 defeat to West Brom that he had made a decision on his future and has made clear that he wants to continue his 20 year stay at the Emirates.
Wenger’s players have been consistent in stating their desire for the manager to stay in the face of mounting opposition from fans.
And Xhaka told Tagesanzeiger that he is convinced the man who spent £34million to bring him from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer will still be in place next season.
“I only know that he is an outstanding coach, an outstanding guy, enormously open and direct,” Xhaka said.
Unfortunately, it is only in the football that the current situation is considered and what happened in the past is forgotten.
“The people demand that Arsenal win a title, especially the Premier League championship.
“But they forgot that new players had to be integrated - and that no coach immediately manages to win the league with a lot of new players.
“The expectations are high, so we know: If we do not meet them, there is criticism.
“We have high expectations ourselves. We are not happy with fourth, third or second either.”
Though Xhaka’s form has come in for criticism this season he has largely retained the support of his manager, though in January Wenger warned him he must learn to stay on his feet rather than diving into the sort of rash challenges that have earned him two red cards for Arsenal this season.
However Arsenal have always viewed Xhaka as a long-term prospect and the Swiss international is ambitious when it comes to his future at the Emirates.
“I am ready to take up the challenges and to move forward,” he told Tribune de Geneve.
“My goal is to become a key player in one of the ten best clubs in the world, and become a leader there.”
Arsenal have announced a pre-tax profit of £12.6m in their latest half-yearly results.
Turnover for the period - the six months ending November 30, 2016 - was up from £158m to £191m on 2015, mainly due to the increase in broadcasting revenue from Sky and BT Sport.
The improved figures come despite a record summer transfer spend of £86.6m on the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Perez, although the club still has to fork out £42m in deferred transfer payments over the next year.
The club has also ringfenced £23.3m from its reserves - now down to £123.7m from £226.5m - for 'non-football purposes', believed to be a contingency fund in the event that the Gunners fail to qualify for next season's Champions League.
"The Premier League season has been intensely competitive across the top six positions," said Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick.
"At the time of writing, we sit in fourth place in the league and with thirteen games remaining, there is everything to play for.
"We have progressed to the sixth round of the FA Cup and will compete to bring home silverware in this competition for the third time in four years and what would be a record-breaking 13th FA Cup trophy.
"Everyone, including Arsene Wenger, our players, board and staff share our fans' disappointment at our first leg result against Bayern Munich but we will approach the second leg with professionalism and a desire to reclaim pride.
"Unity has always been one of Arsenal's strengths as a club. We are very focused on producing a positive and exciting closing run and with the support of our fans, I believe together we can achieve a successful and memorable end to the season."
Due to Southampton's participation in the EFL Cup final this weekend, Arsenal are now not in action again until March 4, when they face a tough trip to Champions League-chasing rivals Liverpool.
