getting to speak to him and getting to know him a little

VATICAN CITY -- Arsenal will deal with manager Arsene Wengers future in our own way and in our own time, club CEO Ivan Gazidis said Thursday.Wengers contract expires at the end of this season, his 21st year with the club.Hes been clear and weve always been clear, thats a mutual decision as to how long hell continue. Both need to be on the same page on that, Gazidis told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a Vatican conference on faith and sport.For many fans, the 66-year-old Wenger has been the only manager theyve ever known at Arsenal. The London club is playing in the Champions League for a 19th consecutive season under Wenger, but the Frenchman has not guided Arsenal to the Premier League title since 2004.Arsenal is not Arsene Wenger. Theyre not one in the same thing, Gazidis said. What Arsene has done is to capture and understand and embrace the values of the club and enhance them.In a football sense, he has transformed the club, the CEO added. But I think from a value standpoint, weve been doing work in our local community for 30 years, before Arsene Wenger came to the club.The Vatican conference, titled Sport at the Service of Humanity, was designed to highlight and strengthen the positive values of sports. It comes at a time of widespread corruption in sports, from various scandals at FIFA to Olympic ticket abuses to match-fixing in numerous leagues and games -- issues that Pope Francis alluded to in the conferences opening ceremony.England, the home of soccer, has come under a negative spotlight lately after a newspaper sting led to several coaches being accused of transgressions.Unguarded comments by Sam Allardyce to undercover reporters forced the termination of his contract as England coach after 67 days. Allardyce appeared to offer advice to fictitious businesspeople on how to sidestep an outlawed player transfer practice, and also to negotiate a 400,000 pound ($519,000) public-speaking contract.The Daily Telegraph also filmed an agent accusing 10 past or current managers in England, which it did not name, of taking bribes linked to player transfers.Football always needs to look at itself and work out how we can improve governance within the game. Certainly the game generates enormous amounts of money now and its important that the center of that is a good value set, Gazidis said. Obviously its an issue of focus for anyone thats involved in the game now.Twenty years ago, successful Arsenal manager George Graham was the casualty of a bribery scandal.There have been issues across the game over time and we need to work out how were going to progress through them and come out of it with a football that people can believe in, Gazidis said.Also about two decades ago, Gazidis was one of the founders of Major League Soccer. He was appointed deputy commissioner of the North American league in 2001.Gazidis got a chance to look at MLS when Arsenal played in the leagues All-Star Game recently in San Jose, California.Theyre growing at a phenomenal rate, Gazidis said, pointing to better development of young American players as the leagues next step toward prominence.They have an incredible number of young kids playing the game, all across the United States from all kinds of different ethnic, racial and religious groups, Gazidis said. Reaching out and making sure that the best of that talent has the best opportunities to drive the league forward is their next big challenge and their huge opportunity.Earlier this week, Bob Bradley was named as the Premier Leagues first American manager. Bradley is taking over at Swansea City and will make his debut against Arsenal on Oct. 15.Ive known Bob Bradley for many, many years, Gazidis said. Hes a terrific manager who has put a lot into his career. But since hes playing against us in his first game I wont wish him too much luck off the bat.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf Fake Vans For Sale . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Fake Vans From China . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. https://www.vansfake.com/ . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Fake Vans . PAUL, Minn. Fake Vans Cheap . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Once perceived as fierce rivals on the football field, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the Seattle Seahawks have found plenty of common ground as Kaepernicks protest of racial inequality and oppression has gained momentum over the past month.Seattle receiver Doug Baldwin said Wednesday that no friction ever existed between the two sides beyond the score on a football field.Well, you [the media] painted that, Baldwin said. Nobody looked at anybody as an enemy, so to speak. This is just our job. Its our occupation, so we had no ill will toward Kaepernick in any way. It hasnt changed because it was never negative in the first place.In fact, Kaepernick and Baldwin have been engaged in what Baldwin called extensive conversations intent on exchanging ideas about what the next step beyond the silent protest during the national anthem will be and how they can follow through on helping communities in need.Baldwin, who played collegiately at nearby Stanford, did not know Kaepernick much on a personal level until after Kaepernick began sitting and then kneeling during the national anthem in the preseason. Seattle cornerback Jeremy Lane soon followed suit by sitting during the anthem, and Baldwin was part of team leadership that organized a show of unity before the first game of the regular season when the Seahawks locked arms during The Star-Spangled Banner.As others in the NFL and across the country began joining the movement, Baldwin and Kaepernick connected via retired receiver Ricardo Lockette, a mutual friend who used to play for Seaattle and San Francisco.ddddddddddddBaldwin was immediately struck by Kaepernicks passion for the issues.Hes a very intellectual human being, Baldwin said. Hes very intelligent, very thoughtful and very passionate, obviously. I didnt know him as a person. I only knew him as a football player. But, obviously, getting to speak to him and getting to know him a little bit more, you can tell he has got a lot of depth to him.Baldwin credits Kaepernick for standing up for what he believes in and sparking a much-needed conversation, even though he knew the risks that would come with it.Its not just the NFL landscape, its across the country right now, Baldwin said. Obviously, we wouldnt be having this conversation if it wasnt for him bringing it to light. So hes stood on the table and shouted and got everybodys attention. And now we have to work on the follow-through collectively.To that end, Baldwin said he and his teammates have planned some other potential opportunities to make a statement and figure out ways to ensure that the issues theyre focused on continue to be front and center.Yes, we do, and the impact that we anticipate is just to continue the conversation, first and foremost, Baldwin said. Were already focused on our follow-through and things that were going to do in our communities and here in Seattle to try to get as much knowledge as we can and see how impactful we can be in our own communities. Well see what happens and go from there. ' ' '