Arsene Wenger
Wenger's current contract expires in 2014.

Arsenal chief-executive Ivan Gazidis remains reserved over the future of manager Arsene Wenger but insists he wants the Frenchman to stay at The Emirates Stadium.

Wenger's current contract expires in the summer of 2014 and the 63 year old hinted towards the end of last season his intention to remain at the club beyond the end of his deal.

And while Gazidis is coy over talks regarding Wenger's future, he reveals an announcement will be made concerning his role when the time is right.

"What I really don't want to do is have a public discussion about Arsene's contractual position," Gazidis told The Evening Standard.

"That would be a daily, weekly fixture on the public coverage if you start getting into that. What I will say is that we think we have got a fantastic manager. We hope that he wants to do what he is doing for the long term. I believe he does.

"I think he is still ambitious, still driven and sees the potential of the club as he looks forward and I think he is very excited by that. We have a great relationship and he has a great relationship with the board as well. So, quietly and at the right time I think we will make an announcement on that when things are all put in place.

"I don't want to get into that level [whether Arsenal had made him an offer] because then it'll be 'you've made him an offer' then the next question will be 'well, what did he say?' and so on. This is going to happen very quietly behind closed doors, privately and then there will be an announcement.

"I don't even want to say [we have discussed it]. We have got a lot of confidence in Arsene that he is the right person to take the club forward and I think he will want to do that."

After taking charge of Arsenal in 1996, Wenger has guided the north Londoners to three Premier League titles and four FA Cups as well as Champions League qualification in 16 consecutive seasons.

But an eight-year trophy drought amid a succession of significant player sales, including former captains Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, has worked to overshadow the achievements of his early years in English football, which included guiding Arsenal unbeaten through the 2003/04 season.

Wenger has been the bedrock of Arsenal for close to two decades, but uncertainty over his future casts a shadow over the new season. Gazidis meanwhile believes new players won't be unsettled despite his future being anything but concrete.

"If you are asking me, is that an issue with players, the answer is 'no'," he said. "It is far more an issue with players signing at other clubs than it is at Arsenal. If players have that on their issue list, I think that's a mark in our favour, not against us.

"I think players that are concerned about uncertainty probably think about Arsenal as the most certain place they could be in the world of football. This is a club that has had remarkable consistency in terms of its manager, its football philosophy, its direction and the consistent support from the board and our principal owner for our manager is pretty much unmatched, through some difficult periods as well.

"So if it's consistency players are looking for, I think Arsenal would be a very attractive place to come.

"I don't want to get into the whole speculation around the transfer market but generally, what I'll say is that it has been quite a slow start and I think that's because there was such a managerial musical chairs going on that everybody is waiting for that to settle down," he added.

"I think clubs, agents and players are, which means it has been quite an unusual beginning to the transfer window. I imagine once most of the managerial appointments settle in a little bit, we will see that starting to pick up."