Arsene Wenger promises to go on and on at Arsenal

Despite the disappointing news yesterday that Theo Walcott will be out for at least a month with damaged knee ligaments, Arsene Wenger will surely be the happiest of the four Premier League managers taking part in the Champions League this week as his Gunners take on AZ Alkmaar in Group H.

Unlike his counterpart at Liverpool, Rafa Benitez, there is no series of must-win games - such as Liverpool face against Lyon at Anfield tonight - or questions over his tactical acumen. Nor is there the perpetual uncertainty that any manager of Roman Abramovich's Chelsea faces on a daily basis. And the prospect of long-term sparring partner Alex Ferguson facing a five-match touchline ban by the FA will surely tickle the Frenchman.

Wenger , who turns 60 this week, currently has a level of support at Arsenal which can probably only be matched in the Premier League by Ferguson, despite it being four years since the Londoners last picked up a trophy. The fans seem content with the manager's long-term plan to bring exciting new talent through the club on an annual basis, and the board is staunchly behind the Frenchman.

When the club revealed annual finances last month that showed it to be in rude financial health, reporting a profit of £80m, it didn't even take into account the £42m Wenger made by selling Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City.

The only real cloud on the horizon is over who will own Arsenal in the future, a situation which appears to be rapidly reaching resolution. American sports billionaire Stan Kroenke is just one per cent of club shares away from breaking the threshold - 29.9 per cent - that would force him to make an offer for the remaining shares. His only rival is the Uzbeki billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who owns just over a quarter of the club's shares. In most Arsenal circles, Kroenke is by far the prefered owner, if such a situation must occur.

But writing in the Official Arsenal Magazine, Wenger seemed unconcerned about whose hands the club falls into. "As long as the club can be run as it is at the moment, it doesn't really matter," he said. "Certainly at some stage, someone will get the majority of the shares. Once somebody reaches 29.9 per cent of the shareholding, they have to make a bid for the club. Then he could gain over 50 per cent, and he will be the decider of the club, but he could still decide that the club should continue to run how it is now."

Elsewhere Wenger has talked about his own future plans after 13 years in charge at Arsenal. "I'd never want to stop, touch wood, if I had health," he told the Times. "I would want to work as long as I lived, but adapted to my potential. It doesn't always need to be physical work, it can be more intellectual. I have to assess every two years because the way I work, it's very hands-on. I don't delegate a lot so it is hard work, but I don't want to stop." ·