Carry on Wenger, now make history at Arsenal

The board are convinced Wenger, 64, is the manager to lead the club forward and backed him with that £8m-a-year deal which will keep him at the Emirates until 2017 and by giving him a £100million war chest to build a title-winning squad.

The Frenchman has insisted for several weeks that he intended to stay on and was merely waiting until the end of the season to get the deal signed.

Arsenal won the FA Cup a fortnight ago - their first silverware since 2005 - and Wenger believes there is more to come.

"I want to stay and to continue to develop the team and the club," said Wenger. "We are entering a very exciting period. We have a strong squad, financial stability and huge support around the world. We are all determined to bring more success to this club.

"The club has always shown faith in me and I'm very grateful for that. We have gone through fantastic periods and also periods where we have had to stick together.

"Every time when that togetherness was tested I got the right response. I think I have shown some loyalty as well towards this club and hopefully we can make some more history. I am sure we can."

The FA Cup victory over Hull was Wenger's eighth major trophy with Arsenal in his 17 years at the club, which includes three Premier League titles and he also led the club to the Champions League final in 2006.

The club have opted for stability by keeping faith with Wenger in what has become almost unheard of in English football. Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996, the next longest serving manager in the top flight - Alan Pardew - was appointed in December 2010.

Manchester United have found to their cost the problems associated with a long-serving manager stepping down as they did not even qualify for European football next season and the board did not want a repeat at Arsenal.

Majority shareholder Stan Kroenke praised Wenger for his achievement of reaching the Champions League for 17 consecutive seasons but said he is expecting Wenger to deliver more silverware.

He said: "Sustained excellence is the hardest thing to achieve in sport and the fact Arsenal has competed at the top of the game in England and Europe throughout the time Arsene has been manager, is the ultimate testimony to his consistency of performance, talent and ambition.

"We are delighted with the FA Cup success which has added to his already outstanding record. Under his guidance we look forward to adding more trophies in future seasons."

Chairman Sir Chips Keswick, said: "We are delighted that Arsene has renewed his contract for a further three years.

"He is a man of principle, who lives and breathes Arsenal. He has established Arsenal for its exciting playing style around the world, continues his commitment to young players and has the ability to bring top-class players to the club.

"I have no doubt we have an exciting future ahead of us with him leading the team."

There was also support for the new deal from several of Wenger's players.

"Congratulations to the boss on signing for another 3 years, looking forward to building on last season's success" wrote Aaron Ramsey on Twitter.

Theo Walcott added: "Great news on the boss signing!!! Exciting times ahead"

But the decision has had a mixed response from fans, still furious that Arsenal's title-challenge fell away so dramatically this season with thrashings at Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, before the customary dash to the line to finish fourth.

Former Arsenal striker Perry Groves said the FA Cup win has appeased many fans, and there is a realisation that Arsenal's season was also derailed by injuries to key players like Walcott and Ramsey.

But many fans are also sceptical about whether Wenger will invest that £100m in big-name players after a reluctance to do so in the past.

The £42.5 million signing of Mesut Ozil appeased some, but they are demanding more big names arrive this summer so Arsenal can mount a serious title challenge. Wenger is sure he can.