Football: Arsenal to extend defenders' contracts

ARSENAL'S VETERAN defenders Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon are all expected to be offered extensions to their contracts by their manager, Arsene Wenger.

Bould's and Winterburn's contracts expire at the end of the season and both have been offered 12-month extensions. Dixon has being invited to negotiate a new contract. Wenger said yesterday: "The situation with all three players should be sorted out by the end of January, but don't be surprised if all three are at Highbury next season."

Bould, 36, Winterburn, 35, and Dixon, 34, together with captain Tony Adams, 32, have been part of the Arsenal defence for the last 11 years. In this period Arsenal have won the league three times, the FA Cup twice, the European Cup-Winners' Cup and the League Cup.

Adams and Martin Keown, 32, (who has also played a major part in the club's success over the last decade) remain under contract for next season. Between them, the five players have appeared in almost 1,700 matches for Arsenal.