Wenger expects Hleb to stay
21 Apr 2008 - 12:05:58
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- Wenger expects Hleb to stay
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident Alex Hleb will eventually pledge his future to the club, despite rumours linking the Belarus international with a summer transfer.
The 26-year-old, who has made 130 appearances for the Gunners in his three seasons with the club, has been linked with Internazionale and Barcelona recently, but Wenger thinks he would be wise to remain at the Emirates Stadium.
The Frenchman told the club's official website: "I believe Alex will stay, but you cannot stop the rumours when players are in this type of situation. But I want Hleb to stay like everybody else.
"You can go to Real Madrid and Barcelona, but you have no more guarantees to win trophies. And from this season we should get the belief we can win trophies and come back to win the title."
Meanwhile, midfielder Gilberto Silva has not given up hope of still being an Arsenal player next season.
The Brazilian has spoken in the past of his frustration at a lack of first-team opportunities this season but will not necessarily be heading out of the club in the summer.
He told the Gunners' official website: "I will sit down with the boss at the end of the season. But for the next few weeks, I will keep focused on doing my job and try to help the team as much as I can.
"We always speak very nicely, the conversations we have are very nice. He's open and we'll talk.
"I still have one more year. To be honest, I really want to stay and I've always expressed that.
"Of course I'm upset that I've not played much this season because last year I played the whole season and this year has been really frustrating."