Wenger urges Henry to sign deal

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has urged Thierry Henry to end the uncertainty.

The French forward said recently that he planned to extend his commitment with the North London giants beyond the boundaries of his current contract, which runs until the summer of 2007.

Henry's comments have failed to throw Barcelona off the scent, with the Spanish champions waiting in the wings to hand the forward a huge deal in the summer.

Wenger is convinced Henry will remain at Arsenal, but is aware the speculation will not disappear until the forward puts pen-to-paper.

Henry is rumoured to be concerned by the prospect of missing out on next season's UEFA Champions League, but Wenger feels his fellow countryman needs to sign on the dotted line and then fire Arsenal into the top four in The Premiership.

"I think he knows the best way is to sign first and qualify after," opined Wenger. "I think that's the only way you can do it because you need to be committed to qualify."

Looking back on the recent events surrounding his star striker, Wenger added: "He spoke to me before he wrote the article in which he said he wanted to stay.

"He did not promise me face-to-face that he would sign but he told me he wants to stay. For me, that is basically the same.

"If I say to you I stay, then I stay. I don't need to reiterate it every week.

"There are people in football who say one thing one week and another the next. But I don't think Thierry is that kind of person.

"I talk to Thierry about the team, about how we want to play - but not about his contract. For me, that's an old story.

"He's made up his mind and said he wants to stay. Why shouldn't I be 100 percent confident that he will?"