Wenger says he will respect his Arsenal contract

Wenger was reported to have met Real president Florentino Perez and Valdano at Orly airport in Paris on 23 June.

And Arsenal took the unusual step of issuing a statement on their website playing down fears that Wenger could leave Highbury for Madrid.

"We are not perturbed by newspaper reports linking Arsene Wenger to Real Madrid," the statement said.

If the question is whether or not we have met Wenger in the past two weeks, then the answer is no Real Madrid director Jorge Valdano

"Arsene himself has reiterated his commitment to the club on a number of occasions and we see no reason to pass further comment on the subject."

And Valdano, questioned on Spanish TV show El Dia Antes, has now denied that any such meeting took place.

"If the question is whether or not we have met Wenger in the past two weeks, then the answer is no," said Valdano.

"I have had contact with a lot of players and also with a lot of coaches during the past three years.

"I need to know and meet people and know football in general; it's part of the job."

Valdano did, however, admit the club had several names in mind should they decide a change of leadership was necessary.

Wenger, who joined Arsenal in 1996, has two years remaining on his current deal.

Reports in Spain had suggested Real had offered him a three-year contract worth �3m a year.

But Wenger insisted he would respect his Arsenal contract when asked by French sports newspaper L'Equipe if he had met Real officials for talks.

"I met a lot of people on Friday," said Wenger.

The Frenchman added: "[I have] two more years to run on my contract and I will complete that. After that, we'll see, but it's possible that I will remain at Arsenal."

Real boss Vicente del Bosque, who is waiting to see if the club will renew his contract for next season, said he was not surprised to see Wenger linked with his job.

"It's normal. But I'm confident of signing a new deal," Del Bosque told Spanish newspaper As.