Arsenal took a major step towards building a British core that will guide the club for years to come by agreeing long-term deals with five of their brightest stars.
Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson were all rewarded with new lucrative deals by the Gunners.
"We are delighted that these five young players have all signed new long-term contracts," Arsene Wenger told the club's official website. "The plan is to build a team around a strong basis of young players, in order to get them to develop their talent at the club.
"Gibbs, Jenkinson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Wilshere represent a core of the squad and it's an extension for a long period for all of them. I'm a strong believer in stability and I believe when you have a core of British players, it's always easier to keep them together and that's what we'll try to achieve going forward."
"Jack is certainly the best known, the leader of this group -- but the other four players are exceptional footballers, and we're very happy that we could conclude their new deals at the same time."
Arsenal are yet to agree on a new contract with their other British player, Theo Walcott. The 23-year-old forward's current deal expires in the summer and the Gunners are desperate to secure his services, as Wenger looks to bring back the glory days in a slightly different manner -- by banking on home talent rather than foreigners.
And one of the players to pledge their futures to the club - Ramsey - is now keen to see his side win silverware. "I've seen the desire for the last four years," Ramsey said. "Things have popped up in games which have killed us but the desire has always been there.
"We're hungrier than ever to win anything. We know we have the ability. Mentally, we need to be in the right state of mind (in) every game and go into it believing we can win.
"It's not all about that. You have to grind out results sometimes. Teams aren't going to let you push them over easily in this league.
"It's turned into a league where anybody can beat anybody so we have to be on our game every single time we go out there and put in a good performance, be mentally right and physically in the right shape."
