By Martyn Herman
LONDON, April 19 - Arsenal chairman Peter
Hill-Wood has reassured supporters that manager Arsene Wenger
has a good relationship with the board despite the shock
departure of vice-chairman David Dein on Wednesday.
Dein left the Premier League club after 23 years because of
"irreconcilable differences" with the rest of the Arsenal board.
"It is well known that Arsene and David have got on very
well over the past 10 years and I'm certain that Arsene will
miss him," Hill-Wood, said on Arsenal TV online.
"However, I believe that the relationship that Arsene has
with the rest of the board is good and he's on contract with us
until 2008. We very much hope that he will extend his contract
beyond that, but we haven't got into talking details yet."
Dein, who owns 14.5 percent of the shares, was instrumental
in bringing Wenger to Arsenal in 1996 when few in England had
heard of the Frenchman.
Since then the team have won three league titles, four FA
Cups and reached last year's Champions League final.
Newspaper reports suggested Dein's relationship with the
board turned sour because of his support for a wealthy outside
backer such as American billionaire Stan Kroenke who owns 11
percent of the north London club's shares.
Hill-Wood said in an interview in Wednesday's Guardian
newspaper that he and three of the club's majority shareholders
-- Danny Fiszman, Nina Bracewell-Smith and the Carr family --
had "no intention" of selling the club to "some stranger".
FUNDS AVAILABLE
He also denied in the Arsenal TV Online interview that
Dein's departure was triggered by a lack of funds to buy players
and said money would be available to strengthen the squad.
"We've always made funds available to Arsene. He attends the
board meetings, he understands the financial position," said
Hill-Wood. "I can assure supporters that we will continue to
provide funds when Arsene requires them."
Earlier this month Wenger himself expressed his concerns
over a big-money takeover of the club.
"I don't feel at the moment the needed solution is more
money," Wenger said. "It's important Arsenal maintains its
values because that's what makes the club so popular and that is
beyond any investment."
Arsenal are the only one of England's top four clubs still
under British ownership after Manchester United and Liverpool
sold out to American tycoons, while Chelsea are owned by Russian
billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Arsenal board members owning 45.5 percent of the club
pledged on Wednesday not to sell their stakes "for at least one
year" and Hill-Wood emphasised that commitment, saying:
"Well I think that personal circumstances can change but I
can assure everybody that the principle shareholders who are on
the board are committed Arsenal fans and have no intention of
selling the shares even after 12 months but I think a commitment
of 12 months should reassure people that we're not sellers."
Should Dein sell his shares to Kroenke, who is the co-owner
of the NFL's St Louis Rams, it would leave the American not far
short of the 30 percent needed to trigger an automatic takeover
bid under stock market rules.