Arsène Wenger wants to stay on at Arsenal beyond the end of the season and remains convinced that he can lead the club out of their worst period in his 21 years as manager.

Wenger revealed after Saturday’s chastening defeat at West Bromwich Albion that he had decided his future and, while the club are well aware of his desire to fight on, a ­final decision has not been signed off and will be “mutual”.

There is no sense that Arsenal have withdrawn the two-year ­contract proposal that was drawn up – and an announcement now appears more a question of timing than intent – but the situation could conceivably still change if the side’s alarming slide continues.

Wenger said that he would communicate a decision on his future “very soon” but no announcement is planned in the current two-week international break and his focus is to arrest an unprecedented sequence during his tenure of four defeats in five Premier League games.

He is also facing deepening uncertainty about his two star players, with Alexis Sánchez seeming ­certain to depart this summer Mesut Özil expected to join up with Germany on Monday despite missing Saturday’s match with a hamstring injury.