Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reportedly agreed to a new three-year contract.
The Frenchman will earn around four million pounds (S$8.5 million Canadian) a year, the BBC said Thursday.

Wenger, 57, said Saturday there would "be news on the contract next week." A formal announcement is expected Friday. His current contract expires at the end of this season.
Arsenal is second in the Premier League and remains unbeaten after four games.
Reports had suggested Wenger's future at the club was uncertain as he was upset at the departure of vice-chairman David Dein in April. Dein disagreed with other directors about a possible takeover by American billionaire Stan Kroenke.

Dein was instrumental in bringing Wenger to Arsenal in 1996 from Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight.

Wenger revolutionized diet, training regimes and the global scouting network at Arsenal, and is credited with transforming the club from a defensive outfit into an attractive side to watch.
Arsenal won the Premier League title and FA Cup in Wenger's first full season. Wenger added a second "double" in 2001-02, and in '04 won the league title without Arsenal losing a game.
Fiji, New Caledonia through qualifying final.

Fiji and New Caledonia will meet in Friday's final of the Oceania Football Confederation World Cup qualifying tournament after taking varying courses through the semifinals on Wednesday.
New Caledonia needed a goal in the final seconds of stoppage time to take a 3-2 win over a Solomon Islands team reduced to nine men, while Fiji beat Vanuatu 3-0, helped by a penalty deftly taken by Osea Vakatalesau.

Friday's final will decide the tournament but both finalists and the winner of the third-place playoff between the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will qualify for the second tournament – a four-country event with New Zealand.

The winner of that tournament will then play home-and-away games against the fifth-place team from the Asian Confederation qualifiers, with the winner advancing to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

FA charges Wigan for player conduct

The Football Association charged Wigan on Thursday with failing to ensure that its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Sept. 1.
The charge concerns the conduct of Wigan players toward referee Steve Bennett in two separate incidents.

Latics midfielder Kevin Kilbane was given a second yellow card following an aerial challenge with Alan Smith. The Wigan players were angry at Bennett's decision, and England striker Emile Heskey was booked for his protests.

Later, Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi appeared to foul Andreas Granqvist and several Wigan players stopped, expecting a free kick. Ameobi played on and bent a shot wide.
"I think that the referee made some strange decisions – a few of them went against us," Wigan manager Chris Hutchings said after the match.

Hutchings also said he would appeal Kilbane's dismissal.

Wigan has until Sept. 19 to respond to the charge.
Eriksson still after Aussie
Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson still wants to sign Australia international Mark Bresciano.
"We were always interested in him," Eriksson was quoted in the Manchester Evening News on Wednesday. "He might be a possibility, but it is too early."
Eriksson had hoped to sign the Palermo midfielder before the transfer deadline last Friday. Bresciano spent time training with City, but the club wanted to delay payment of the four-million-pound ($8.5 million Canadian) fee agreed with Palermo and the Serie A side refused.
City would next be able to buy Bresciano when the transfer window reopens for a month, starting Jan. 1, 2008.
Bresciano has scored 9 goals in 37 internationals.
Eriksson has spent about 30 million pounds ($63.9 million Canadian) of new owner Thaksin Shinawatra's money on eight players since being appointed on July 6.
City stands fifth in the Premier League with nine points from five games.
Santos signs as new PAOK coach
Fernando Santos is PAOK Thessaloniki's new coach.
The 53-year-old Portuguese coach signed a three-year contract Thursday, the club said.
Santos previously coached Panathinaikos and AEK Athens before returning to Portugal last year to coach Benfica. He was fired by the Portuguese team last month because of disappointing results.
Benfica finished third last season.

Jose Mourinho has predicted that the Premier League will be closer than ever this season - and the early statistics certainly back up the Chelsea manager's claims.

While the new campaign may only be five games old - four for teams who have seen fixtures postponed because of early European action - there are just three points between leaders Liverpool and 12th-placed Middlesbrough.

Further proof of the competitive nature of the league comes from the fact that only Derby are yet to collect a three-point haul this season, while Manchester City are just a point from the summit having lost back-to-back matches.

Mourinho's comments were prompted by Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday - a ground where the Portuguese coach is still to taste victory after three previous draws.

Dream debut

Boyhood Villa fan Zat Knight enjoyed a dream debut after his switch from Fulham, heading home the opening goal and keeping Didier Drogba at bay.
There was further debut delight for Yakubu Aiyegbeni as he took a mere 11 minutes to open his Everton account following his club-record move from Middlesbrough.
The Nigerian's goal in the 2-1 victory at Bolton owed much to the industrious Andy Johnson who put the chance on a plate for his new team-mate and the signs are good for a promising partnership between the duo.

Skysports.com Team of the Weekend:

1 - Maik Taylor
2 - Steven Taylor
3 - Andrew Taylor
4 - David Wheater
5 - Ryan Nelsen
6 - Xabi Alonso
7 - Ashley Young
8 - Cesc Fabregas
9 - Craig Bellamy
10 - Michael Owen
11 - Matthew Etherington

Liverpool look in ominous form this season and they showed no mercy in hitting play-off winners Derby for six at Anfield on Saturday.

The Rams have now shipped a worrying 15 goals in their opening five matches and will need to swiftly come to terms with top-flight life if they are to have any hope of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.

The early-season optimism at Manchester City prompted by three successive victories under Sven Goran Eriksson has been tempered somewhat by defeats at Arsenal and Blackburn.
But given that Benni McCarthy's winner at Ewood Park was only the second goal conceded by Kasper Schmeichel this season, the future still looks bright under the former England coach.