Wenger adds Cole to fire

ARSENE WENGER has declared he is “100% certain” Ashley Cole will stay at Arsenal next season and sign a new contract.

A bullish Wenger argued yesterday that Arsenal are the victims in the saga over Chelsea's alleged tapping-up, insisting they had no option but to make an official complaint to the Premier League.

The Frenchman once famously responded to taunts over his team from Alex Ferguson by claiming that "everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife."

He was just as expressive ahead of tonight's Premiership clash at Chelsea, declaring: "If people come to your window and talk to your wife every night, you can't accept it without asking what is happening."

Wenger added: "That's why I've said from the start that we could only be the losers in this story. Either we let them get away with it or we want to know what happened. But is that our fault or is it Chelsea's fault? If you were in our position, what would you have done? So why should he be angry with us?"

The net effect has still been for the controversy to rumble on, with the hearing now put back until the week of Arsenal's FA Cup final appearance against Manchester United.

Having avoided questions over his future last weekend, Cole was at least slightly more positive in insisting he is "fully focused and committed to this club" yesterday.

Wenger insisted Arsenal's only failure was in not reaching immediate agreement with Cole's agent, Jonathan Barnett, in their initial meeting over the defender's proposed improved contract.

He insisted: "I'm 100% certain Ashley will stay and sign a new contract. It's my desire for him to stay and I think that he's happy here.

"You could maybe find us guilty as we didn't find an agreement with Ashley Cole's agent. But that happens in every story and it's sometimes a question of time.

"What have we done wrong? I've been at Arsenal for nine years and how can you believe that I would renege on a deal? It's not true. Ashley Cole was never in that meeting. It is just a statement made by an agent, that's all."

Wenger admitted he had still been surprised by the Premier League's decision to charge Cole with allegedly making an approach to a club in his alleged meeting with Jose Mourinho.

"I was surprised as I didn't know the rules well enough. But in an affair like this, three parties are involved and it's normal for them to want to have all the witnesses in there," he said.

"I have spoken to Ashley but I'm not really concerned as I know he is a winner, a fighter and a strong man," stressed Wenger.

"When he's on the pitch, the most important thing for him is to win the game no matter where it is or who he is playing for. I believe he has enough experience to deal with the situation."

Allegations surrounding Chelsea's off-pitch conduct nevertheless continue to seize the agenda, with chief executive Peter Kenyon having recently held a 'chance' rendezvous with Rio Ferdinand.

Unlike Arsenal, Manchester United seem unlikely to launch an official complaint, with Wenger simply observing "that is Manchester United's problem."

The Arsenal boss is nevertheless determined to fight his own corner, starting tonight, with Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg both injured and Sol Campbell still doubtful.

"We will try to defend our case and keep our best players," vowed Wenger. "English football will only be interesting if everyone has a chance to compete for the title. If there is only one team, they will be bored."

Meanwhile, Chelsea assistant coach Steve Clarke hit back yesterday at Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes after the unsettled Spaniard labelled them 'boring'.

Victories over Arsene Wenger's side and Fulham at the weekend will earn Jose Mourinho and his side the title but the Gunners still believe they are the best team in the capital despite Chelsea's domination of the Premiership.

And while Jose Mourinho chose, perhaps wisely for once, to stay out of the limelight last night, Clarke was determined to ensure the 'boring' jibes did not stick, mocking the Gunners for failing to get as far as the Blues in the Champions League.

"I think we've been the best team to watch," he said. "I don't think you can label us as boring - that's not fair to us. We've got through to the semi-finals of the Champions League, which Arsenal have failed to do. In our eyes, that makes us better than them.

"If we were in the middle of the table, they wouldn't speak about us. They only do so because we are at the top, so it is compliment.

"But football is all about opinions and Arsenal's players are entitled to theirs. Winning will be satisfying because it will be another three points on the way to winning the league. At the start of the season the sole purpose was to win the Premiership. That was our intention.

"As a player and a coach, you always say the league table doesn't lie because the best team is the one at the top. In a situation when we are 11 points clear of Arsenal, that, in our eyes, makes us the best team.

"If you lose to Arsenal and Manchester United twice along the way and you are still champions, you are the best team because you are top of the league. When you are at the top you are there to be shot at.

"When Manchester United dominated they were always criticised - Arsenal the same. I don't care if we are not popular champions," said Clarke.