Arsene Wenger knows full well the need to be "patient" in the quest for honours - and has challenged his Arsenal squad to prove they are winners next season.

As speculation continues over the future of leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor - who last week declared: "it is up to the directors to satisfy my demands or I will leave" - Wenger returns from his media and sponsor commitments at Euro 2008 determined to mould a squad capable of again challenging the dominance of Manchester United and Chelsea.

The Gunners have already moved to bring in new personal this summer, with a £13million deal for Marseille's Samir Nasri close to completion as Wenger looks to add to the capture of promising teenage Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey from under the noses of rivals Manchester United and Everton, while 19-year-old Mexican striker Carlos Vela has been granted a work permit following his successful loan spell in Spain with Osasuna.

Yet whoever boards the plane to Austria on July 21 for the start of Arsenal's pre-season preparations, they will all have to buy in to the same ethos as their manager.

"In life you need to patient to get to the very top, and don't forget some players do not start to win until they are 28 or 29 and we have many players who are still under 25," Wenger told the official Arsenal magazine.

"I still believe we have created something special here, through the vision we have for the game, through the vision we have for the club and through the togetherness we have in the dressing room.

"Yes, maybe we have the feeling that we deserve something this season and we did not get reward for our work, but when you are a winner you come back.

"If you really share the kind of vision that the club has, you come back and say, let's show that we can win it."

Wenger, 58, added: "When things go against you of course it is very frustrating.

"You have to stay motivated though and what drives me on is my love for football, and also what drives me on is to try and come back and win."

Having already seen combative midfielder Mathieu Flamini walk out to join AC Milan on a free transfer, Wenger has no intentions of letting anyone else leave.

However, the Arsenal manager accepts keeping a player under contract as a matter of principle when they clearly want to cash in on a lucrative offer elsewhere is an "impossible" ideal.

Adebayor - signed from Monaco in January 2006 - has sent out mixed messages since interest was shown by both AC Milan and Barcelona.

While the 24-year-old, who netted 30 goals last season, may well be happy to stay at Arsenal, that would seem to depend on whether the club are ready to shatter their strict wage policy and match the £120,000-a-week said to be on offer elsewhere.

The latest words from the 6ft 3ins African appear in stark contrast to the statements he gave at the end of last season, when Adebayor insisted suggestions he was ready to quit Emirates Stadium were "rubbish".

While the Togo international and his representatives may be just looking to secure a better package from the Gunners, Wenger insists he has no intention of holding another summit with the striker - who only agreed a new deal during May 2007 - ahead of pre-season training.

The Arsenal manager, though, cannot have been impressed by the whole saga, while fans' groups have also started to criticise the striker for a perceived lack of loyalty.

The future of winger Alexander Hleb has also yet to be resolved one way or another, although that could well happen once the deal for Nasri is rubber-stamped.

Werder Bremen midfielder Amaury Bischoff, 21, has claimed the Gunners are close to a deal for his services, while Wenger is said to have one eye on Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins, rated around £14million, should Adebayor eventually leave as well as be keeping tabs on Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna, who stared for Spain in their Euro 2008 triumph.

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