ARSENE WENGER: I’LL QUIT ARSENAL BY THE END OF 2017/18 SEASON

LONDON – Long time coach of Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, who has served the club for 21 years has announced his decision to quit the club by the end of 2017 and 2018 season. Wenger won three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and seven Community Shields, and has given a number of academy graduates their first-team debuts in the last 21 years.

“ I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season. I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years. I managed the club with full commitment and integrity.

“ I want to thank the staff, the players, the directors and the fans who make this club so special. I urge our fans to stand behind the team to finish on a high. To all the Arsenal lovers take care of the values of the club. My love and support for ever, ” he said on the clubs website.

Arsenal Majority owner Stan Kroenke described the development as one of the most difficult days the club ever had all the years in sport.

“One of the main reasons we got involved with Arsenal was because of what Arsène has brought to the club on and off the pitch. His longevity and consistency over such a sustained period at the highest level of the game will never be matched.

“Arsène has unparalleled class and we will always be grateful to him. Everyone who loves Arsenal and everyone who loves football owes him a debt of gratitude. Three Premier League titles, including an entire season unbeaten, seven FA Cup triumphs and 20 successive years in the Champions League is an exceptional record. He has also transformed the identity of our club and of English football with his vision for how the game can be played.

“We have high ambitions to build on Arsène’s remarkable tenure and to honour his vision by ensuring that Arsenal competes for and wins the biggest and most important prizes in the game.

“We must now focus on making a strong finish to the season and ask our millions of fans around the world to join us in paying appropriate tribute to one of the greats of Arsenal’s history and one of the greats of the game,” Arsenal.com said.