Arsenal confident Wenger will stay after 'lengthy' contract talks

The manager has publicly refused to commit his future beyond the forthcoming season but Hill-Wood is optimistic the Frenchman will extend his 11-year spell at the club.

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"We had a fairly lengthy conversation recently and that went very well," said the chairman. "Hopefully, in the not too distant future we'll have something positive to say about it.

"I'm confident he'll stay. I very much hope he will. It's very important. He's done a marvellous job here. He looks pretty fit to me and I think he enjoys himself still. He's got a good job and I'm hoping he'll stay with us."

Wenger, 57, has spent around £ 20million on four signings this summer and Hill-Wood is happy the squad can compete for major honours after two trophyless seasons.

"If you tune into the media, you would believe it's been a difficult summer but I think people have not really looked behind what's happened," he said.

"I'm very relaxed. I think we've got a very good squad and we've added a few players, most of them not names people have heard of before.

"But that's very much Arsene Wenger's style. People hadn't really heard of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira or Cesc Fabregas before they arrived.

"I believe we've never been in a better position. I think the team are absolutely first class. They are a young side but they're a year older now so they're going to be that much better."

Hill-Wood is also upbeat about Arsenal's financial position despite the debts incurred from relocating to Emirates Stadium a year ago.

"Financially the move has increased our revenue. In fact, matchday revenue has tripled in comparison to Highbury," he said in an interview with the Arsenal website today.

"The stadium has not held Arsenal back at all in terms of bringing in new players.

"It's actually given us the opportunity to compete with the biggest clubs in the world."