WENGER WANTS TO BUILD ARSENAL

Arsene Wenger maintains it's his responsibility not to "destroy" all the hard work of the past decade put in by himself and former vice-chairman David Dein at Arsenal.

After the shock departure of his strongest ally from the board earlier this week, it was suggested the French coach was about to follow Dein out of Emirates Stadium in the summer.

However, Wenger - who still has 15 months left on his current deal - insisted he remained ever committed to the Arsenal cause and keeping the club "stable".

He said: "I have a responsibility towards the club and the fans, and I want to stand up for that.

"For me to destroy the work we have done together now would be stupid.

"The last person who would want to do that is David, because he acted always in the interests of Arsenal Football Club.

"The interests of Arsenal Football Club are to continue to be stable, to develop and go on.

"In the short-term, I feel we can deal with that situation.

"In the longer-term, David will have to be replaced."

The involvement of billionaire Stan Kroenke is understood to be the reason behind Dein's split with the rest of the Arsenal board - he was in favour of the American taking on a major role at the club, while the other directors were against such a move.

The former Football Association vice-chairman still holds around 14% of shares in the parent company of the Gunners, estimated to be worth approximately ฃ60million.

Dein is thought to be considering a joint takeover bid with the KSE group, which recently upped their stake to just over 12% in the club.

Whatever the future holds, Wenger feels Arsenal have "lost a man of class, intelligence and competence who has contributed highly to the success and the development of the club and brought English football into the modern era".

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