Wenger: Our legacy will be our style of play

Manager Arsene Wenger insists he will never be satisfied with what he has achieved at Arsenal.

The Gunners head to Wigan today looking to climb back into the top three of the Barclays Premier League, after what has been one of the most testing spells of Wenger’s 16 years at the helm.

While Arsenal may be a club transformed from the side the French coach walked into back in October 1996, Wenger feels his work is far from done.

“I am never satisfied. I just try to do my best,” said Wenger, who current deal runs until 2014.

“I have been the most criticised in the last seven years (without a trophy), but I feel, for a manager, it was more difficult in the first years.”

Asked to reflect on how history would remember his time at Arsenal were civilisation to have fallen today, Wenger joked: “The Mayans were wrong — the end of the world came at Bradford!”

Defeat at Valley Parade in the Capital One Cup was unquestionably a major setback to Arsenal’s hopes of silverware this season.

The former Monaco manager, though, feels the club has been forever changed for the better since he stepped into the marble halls of Highbury.

“Our legacy will be our style of play, a way to see football, a way to see the development of the game and overall a happy attitude towards the game,” he said.

“I believe as well the club has grown since I arrived.

“When you compare where the club is today to when I first arrived, Arsenal was at Highbury with no training ground, 80 employees — today we are nearly 500 (staff) in a big stadium and big training centre, and we are a world-known club. We have been consistent at the top level.”

Wigan have been consistent in confounding their critics as last season they plotted another remarkable escape from what had looked certain relegation with seven victories from the final nine Premier League matches — including wins over Manchester United and Arsenal.

Despite the Latics having slipped into the bottom three after last week’s 2-1 defeat at Norwich made it five losses from seven, Wenger remains impressed by the work of their manager Roberto Martinez.

“I believe he has a positive idea of the game and wants to play football. He controls the situation well,” Wenger said.

“He finds something every year when everybody writes them off and finds the resources to get the results that nobody expected.”

While talks continue over a contract extension for Theo Walcott, British quintet Jack Wilshere, Carl Jenkinson, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all penned new long-term deals this week.

However, the Arsenal manager insists his focus is on the here and now, not whether he will remain in charge for the duration of the young players’ time with the club.

“I cannot give them that insurance because that decision does not depend on me,” he said.

“The insurance I give them is the club has faith in them and at the moment I decide the technical policy of the club, and I believe it is important that the club has these players for a longer period.”

On his own long-term plans, Wenger remained ever coy. He added: “At the moment, I envisage to do well this season and as I always do to respect my full commitment for the club.

“I want to do well for the idea of the football I have and I want to do well for the club as long as I am here. After that, we will see.”

Martinez believes the Arsenal side are a team on the up rather than one in decline. “I don’t understand it from the outside. You look at this Arsenal side, they’ve had to cope with many players moving away and new players coming in. They need a little bit of time but I went to see them on Monday (beating Reading 5-2) and they were very impressive.