Arsenal chief Ivan Gazidis admits the club's financial stability and success is down to manager Arsene Wenger. The Telegraph says Wenger turned 60 this season but the directors hope that he will emulate or even surpass Ferguson who, at 68, is still going strong.

"I think it is very difficult to encapsulate in any succinct way what Arsène Wenger has done for this club," says Gazidis.

"His discipline and his vision are why we are in a new stadium and why we are redefining the way the game can be played. He has created a young squad that has a tremendous future without having the resources that some other teams have.

"Those achievements are down to Arsène's sense of responsibility not to himself but to the club. When he interviewed for the job, Danny Fiszman [an Arsenal director] asked him what are your ambitions for the club? Arsène said: 'That when I leave, it will be in a better state than when I arrived.'

"I think Arsène has accomplished that but I also think his legacy is not written yet. There's no diminishment in his passion, competitive edge or ambition. Arsène's work is not finished."