Arsene Wenger admitted yesterday he had been approached to become manager of another major club in Europe - but had turned down the offer because "I am committed to Arsenal".
Wenger refused to reveal which club had made the offer - "It must remain secret because people demand confidentiality in these matters," he said - but it is believed to have come from Real Madrid.
Wenger believes that it is fundamental for the progress of his Highbury revolution that Arsenal win a cup or a title soon. And Wenger plans to take a major step in the Wembley direction tonight against Chelsea at Highbury in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.
UEFA have also come under pressure to reinstate a UEFA place for the winners, adding incentive for both teams. "We cannot neglect the possibility that they will say next month that, yes, there is a European place after all," said Wenger. "Also, this is a semi-final of what is a respected competition in England."
Ironically, though, just when Arsenal - and Chelsea, for that matter - want to field their strongest side for the chance of reaching a Wembley final in March, they cannot do so.
England internationals David Seaman, Ian Wright, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon are all out injured, while Patrick Vieira has had to answer a call from France to play in a World Cup warm-up against Spain, alongside Chelsea's Frank Lebouef on the same night. However, Wenger can be thankful that Frenchman Emmanuel Petit has not been called up.
He has not yet decided whether Vieira - who starts a two-match Premiership suspension on Saturday - will be replaced by Stephen Hughes or David Platt, the latter having only just recovered from a groin injury which has kept him out of the last seven games. In the continued absence of Ian Wright, he will be banking on Dennis Bergkamp and Marc Overmars to secure an Arsenal advantage for the second leg at Stamford Bridge in two weeks.
Ruud Gullit's Chelsea could also have done without international calls depriving them of Roberto Di Matteo and Leboeuf. Gullit, however, expects Dennis Wise to be fit to return after a toe injury. Leboeuf's absence may tempt Gullit to start himself in a game which is the first of three meetings with Arsenal in the space of less than a month.
