Arsene Wenger signs up for life as Arsenal secure £150m deal

Arsene Wenger will be given full autonomy to preside over the largest transfer budget in Arsenal’s history following confirmation on Monday that he will extend his contract beyond the end of this season.

The Premier League’s longest-serving manager is ready to sign a new deal that is understood to be worth £24 million (Dh146 million) over three years and will take him into an unprecedented third decade at Arsenal.

The Daily Telegraph revealed in September that Stan Kroenke, Arsenal’s majority owner, would ask Wenger to oversee the next phase of the club’s development and chief executive Ivan Gazidis revealed on Monday that a formal announcement was now a formality.

“Arsene will be extending with us and, at the right time, we will make that announcement,” said Gazidis. “We have always supported Arsene, the board and Stan Kroenke have always been completely behind him.

Arsene has always been committed to the club. He’s the right person to see us forward.” Gazidis was speaking at a press conference to announce a £150 million, five-year kit deal with Puma that is the largest in British football history. The partnership, which will increase Arsenal’s annual revenue by £22 million, will begin in July and be part of an eventual yearly increment in Wenger’s spending power £70 million.