Wenger: 'I will manage next season - here or somewhere else'

While talk of embattled Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's future with the club dominates the headlines, the Frenchman offered some insight into what lies ahead Friday.

"No matter what happens I will manage next season - here or somewhere else. That's absolutely for sure," Wenger told reporters ahead of a FA Cup date with non-league Sutton United, according to Sky Sports' Stephen Turner.

"... At the moment we have other priorities and my future is not important, it's Arsenal Football Club, the future of our team, and what we can achieve until the end of the season that is important."

With his contract at the club set to expire in the summer, Wenger's tenure with the north London club has become a point of derision, particularly following a string of recent defeats to Watford, Chelsea, and a Bavarian drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich.

After stating that he would make a decision in the summer, Wenger backtracked on comments he made to the German media suggesting a compromise could be reached in March or April, adding, "If I said 'March or April' it is because I didn't know."

Asked about the Arsenal board's perspective, Wenger offered, "I don't want to come back on that. ...

"What is important is that the club makes the right decisions for the future. I did not work here for 20 years not to care about this club because I had many opportunities to go somewhere else."

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Talk of those opportunities and others the 67-year-old Frenchman could receive will become a hot topic after Wenger's insistence that he'll manage next season, though it's clear that for the time being, his priorities remain at Arsenal.

"I care about the club and its future and it's very important the club is always in safe hands, with me or someone else," Wenger said.

He added, "Even if I go Arsenal won't win every single game in future. You have to accept that, as much as it hurts to lose games."

With pundits and supporters alike calling for his head, Wenger was quick to point out his influence on the club since his arrival in 1996.

"If you look at the history of Arsenal, they had less games in the Champions League than I'd had in my career already (when I arrived). Since, they have done a few.

"It's not like before I arrived, Arsenal has won five times the European Cup. They have never won it, they have played maybe 10 games in the whole history of the club. We have to take into perspective some demands."

Without a Premier League title since 2003-04 and a 2006 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona marking the club's furthest progression in Europe's top-tier tournament, Wenger noted that consistency shouldn't be overlooked when measuring a manager's value.

"As long as you don't win absolutely everything there's always something wrong. You have to accept that," he said. "On the other hand in the last 20 years only three clubs managed to play every year in the Champions League - Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid. If not everything is perfect, not all is wrong."