'Wenger has always been the right man for Arsenal' - Kanu

Premier League title winner Kanu insists Arsene Wenger has “always been the right man for Arsenal” and should be offered the opportunity to prolong his stay with the Gunners.

The Frenchman is due to reach the end of his current contract in the summer, after more than 20 years in the dugout.

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He has enjoyed considerable success during that time, but questions have been raised in recent years as to his suitability for the role heading forward.

There is no question in Kanu’s mind, though, that a club legend remains the ideal candidate to lead the club towards a bright future.

The former Nigeria international, who spent six years in north London between 1998 and 2004, told the Sun: "Wenger has always been the right man for Arsenal, there is never any question.

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"They are second this season, they are not exactly doing badly – and they have a fantastic team.

"I am friends with everybody from that team and time. I always try and keep in touch and it is very easy to talk to Wenger. We have been there and done that and we have lots of good memories."

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Kanu is also of the opinion that Arsenal should be pulling out all of the stops to keep Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez at the club, with both players yet to agree extensions to contracts due to run out in 2018.

He said: “”It is important to keep your best players if you want to move forward – they are great players so why should they leave a great club?

“The fans love them and Arsenal must do everything they can to keep them.”

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Finally, Kanu feels the Gunners remain a serious contender in this season’s Premier League race, with Wenger’s side having shown that they can grind out results when required.

He added: “”My advice to Arsenal would be to be able to really see off teams. If they are one goal up, they have to make sure they finish the game strongly and not let other teams back into the game.

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“I believe they are getting a team now that can win ugly, play bad and still get three points – it’s not all about winning 5-0.

“The more points they can grind out, the more they do that, the more chance I believe they have to finally win the league and catch Chelsea.

“Every club has weaknesses, Arsenal has been there before and this time they have a better chance as long as they do not lose focus in each game.”