Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's leadership will be scrutinised tomorrow when he addresses shareholders at a question-and-answer session.

Wenger is scheduled to attend the meeting and will have to field questions on another trophyless campaign, with the club's last silverware being the 2005 FA Cup.

The Frenchman has appeared defensive about his methods at the Emirates Stadium but it is understood there are hopes he will echo the sentiments of chief executive Ivan Gazidis, who spoke to the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) earlier in the week.

AST members were impressed with Gazidis' approach to moving the club forward after finishing fourth in the Premier League.

"I am not happy where we ended up but I am pleased we are disappointed by it," Gazidis said.

"There are other clubs who would feel this is a good position. Or we could say in December 'if someone had said we'd have been in this position then we would have bitten their hands off'.

"So why aren't we feeling great about it? The answer is because we have higher expectations.

"But this is not a situation where we should be over-reactive and feel that we are in crisis. We are not. We have a team with an average age of 23 or 24 that went to the Champions League semi-finals and is going to get better.

"Does it need to be supplemented? Quite possibly but it is a very, very promising situation for the next four or five years.

"So right now I think it is important to have some perspective and be brutally realistic with ourselves - but not only on the negative side but the positive side as well."

Wenger has suggested that he will not go on a summer spending spree to change Arsenal's fortunes.

It appears there will not be many changes behind the scenes either as the club released a statement to insist assistant boss Pat Rice is not considering retirement.

"He remains a key part of Arsene Wenger's backroom staff," the statement read.

Wenger's plans are to bring one or two players to the club, rather than make radical changes.

The 59-year-old said: "Certainly we will try to strengthen the squad in the summer, we will look to bring in one or two players.

"We are prepared to spend the necessary money to get the players we want, but the size of the player is not always linked with the size of the money you spend.

"Once we identify the player we want, we will spend the money we need to."

Wenger expects his side to bounce back from the disappointment of getting knocked out of the Champions League and FA Cup at the semi-final stage.

He added: "I remain confident we can win silverware next season, and that is why we will continue to work hard, but we will naturally progress if we keep going.

"When you are a competitor, you get up the next day (after defeat) and you feel you will not let that happen again - that is exactly the same for the players.

"If you do not want to fight, you are in the wrong job. Competition demands strong people, otherwise you should go and do something else."

Meanwhile, AST are cautious about reports Alisher Usmanov, the Gunners' second-highest stakeholder, could be ready to help the club pay off some of their debt.

"We would need to see more detailed proposals and understand how it is being discussed with the board," said an AST spokesperson.

"We've always said that we would welcome all shareholders working together for the benefit of the club."