Arsene Wenger has no intentions of leaving Arsenal and believes captain Cesc Fabregas will outlast his stay at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners boss has, for the first time in his 12-season tenure, come under scrutiny as his young side struggle for consistency and remain outside the top four of the Barclays Premier League.

The gap on Aston Villa, however, is now down to just three points following the midweek results, which saw Arsenal score their first league goals in four games to beat bottom club West Brom 3-1 at The Hawthorns.

Wenger knows qualification for Europe's elite competition again next season is vital - not only for financial reasons but also to convince stars like Fabregas and Robin van Persie to remain on board for the long term.

The Arsenal manager, though, firmly believes Fabregas, currently battling back from a knee injury, remains fully committed to the cause.

"I hope his future will last longer than mine because I think he can still be here in 10 years," said Wenger, who rejected reports claiming he was top of Manchester City's wish list to replace Mark Hughes in the summer.

"Cesc should be one of the bases of this club.

"I think the club should be built around personalities like Cesc and that is why I hope he will still be here.

"He is 22 years old in 2009 and at 32, he will still play."

Wenger, meanwhile, insisted his focus was on nothing other than completing his mission at Emirates Stadium.

"I have never allowed anyone to question my commitment to this club, in the good and in the bad times, that has not changed in my mind," he said."They [Man City] have a very good manager in Mark Hughes. He is doing a good job. They have to keep confidence in him.

"On my side, I am contracted until 2011 and until 2011 I do not envisage to go anywhere else."

Fabregas has returned the compliment by insisting if Wenger were to leave, so would he.

"I have heard the rumours about Wenger leaving for the past three years," Fabregas told the Daily Mirror. "If he left the club then of course I would consider my own future and whether I would leave the club.

"I am happy at Arsenal and believe that we and Barcelona play the best football in Europe.

"But Wenger is a main part of that."

Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to 16 matches in all competitions with the win over the Baggies on Tuesday night.

Wenger feels his side are slowly regaining confidence following a run of four successive goalless draws in the Premier League.

He said: "We have always had a very strong attitude and focus in training and in the games.

"We are on a good run, even if recently we did not score many goals - but we did not lose, and once you start to win, that will come good.

"It is an important period of the season now, and it is important for us to continue the run and go from strength to strength."

Arsenal are in FA Cup action this weekend, when they take on Burnley at Emirates Stadium for their delayed fifth-round tie.

Wenger, though, is unhappy the match has been scheduled for Sunday lunchtime which will upset preparations for next week's Champions League trip to Roma.

"It is not ideal. Lets be frank, we asked to play on Saturday and we got on answer 'yes, you can play on Sunday," said the Arsenal manager."Roma moved their game to Saturday because every single knock you get or every problem is difficult to sort out in three days, and because we play away as well, we would have loved one day more.

"But it is very difficult because the FA is not the master of the fixtures. It is the television who decide, which I can understand because they pay a lot of money."

England winger Theo Walcott could make his return from a shoulder injury on Sunday, while striker Eduardo (hamstring) may also feature.

Defender Kolo Toure (calf) is unlikely to be risked, but William Gallas (ankle) should return.