Ivan Gazidis: Arsene Wenger will be Arsenal manager for a long time

Wenger, 65, is preparing for a 20th campaign in charge of the Gunners.

Having secured back-to-back FA Cup victories following a near decade without a trophy, Wenger now has the squad focused on a sustained challenge for the Barclays Premier League.

Gazidis believes Wenger, who last summer signed a new contract extension to the end of the 2017 season, remains the right man for the job as long as he feels able to do it.

"He's been incredibly important for us... You never know, but he's in great health and he's doing incredibly well. He's full of energy and enthusiasm, his hunger is still there, and I'd never put an end-date on it," said Gazidis in an interview with the Straits Times.

"He's also been a passionate supporter of the club, in a sense a fan of the club. He's put the club's progress and development above his own personal interest.

"We believe we have the right man in the club and we're very pleased that he's full of health and willing to carry us forward."

Arsenal have in recent seasons been able to land such marquee signings as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, while earlier this summer they brought in veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea, who could play against Everton in the final of the Asia Trophy on Saturday.

Gazidis said the board shared Wenger's optimism about what the current group can achieve.

He added: "We have got a growing sense of belief in our squad. We want to be more consistent going into next season.

"We definitely have the quality in our squad to compete and win the league."

Arsenal are heading in the right direction under Wenger after a sticky couple of years, and it is a nice soundbite for the fans to hear such complimentary statements made about the manager on the cusp of the new season. Wenger has been an expert in ensuring the club are never out of the top four, and are back among the trophies with back-to-back FA Cup wins in the past two seasons. The trick now is trying to bridge the gap at the top of the league between Manchester City, Chelsea and themselves. When you study the Arsenal squad, there is no reason why Wenger's side can't mount a challenge for the title. As Gazidis points out, the title must be the goal.