Chairman of the board at Arsenal Peter Hill-Wood has told the club website that he has entered in to talks with Arsene Wenger about extending his contract beyond the twelve months he has left on his existing deal.

The Frenchman was linked with the Real Madrid position following the dismissal of Fabio Capello. The uncertainty surrounding his future has created instability in the dressing room at the Emirates Stadium. Players are considering their own futures as they watch their leader planning a future that may lie elsewhere. They have already watched the club captain Thierry Henry leave for Barcelona in a cut price deal, Henry being the latest in a procession of big names that have left the club in the last few seasons.

Arsenal have experienced difficulty in attracting new talent to the club, they have already been snubbed by Ryan Babel and William Gallas has voiced his concerns about the clubs inability to attract stars. Big players with reputations to protect would be best advised to steer clear of a club that will be changing the management in twelve months for fear that the new manager may not want to keep them around as he attempts to make his mark on his new squad and bring in his own playing staff.

Hill-Wood told Arsenal.com “I’m confident he’ll stay” he also said “Hopefully, in the not too distant future we’ll have something positive to say about it”. Cynics will say that this announcement will give the impression that all is well at Ashburton Grove, Arsenal will hope that it sends the right signals out to potential signings. So far they have only signed relative unknowns Fabianski, da Silva and Sagna, although die hard Gunners will jump to the clubs defence to remind us that nobody had really heard of Henry or Vieira before they were unveiled by Arsene Wenger.

With more departures on the card with speculation in the press over Ljungberg and Fabregas and Wenger hinting that Reyes will be playing elsewhere next season. It would seem that Arsenal would have it all still to do if they are to compete next season with more than just kids, especially when you consider the rest of the big four have brought in a galaxy of stars and the pretenders to the coveted fourth Champions League spot are also bolstering their squads in a bid to exploit the Gunners weakness. North London rivals Spurs have brought in Bent, Bale, Kaboul and Taarabt, while Pompey have recruited Nugent, Muntari, Distin and Hreidarsson and Newcastle have brought in Geremi, Rozehnal, Barton and Viduka.