With Arsenal's season having petered out earlier this month, after defeats by Liverpool in the Champions League and Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League, Arsène Wenger could be forgiven for taking it easy. The 2007-08 campaign is over.

Yet the Arsenal manager retains a feisty edge, especially when defending his corner and protecting his assets. Yesterday, with team rebuilding in mind, he issued a “hands-off” warning to Inter Milan, the would-be suitors of Alexander Hleb, the Arsenal midfield player.

Wenger's hackles have been raised by flattering comments made by Roberto Mancini, the Inter coach, about Hleb. If it is a typical tactic among the leading continental clubs, Wenger is having none of it and threatened to report the Italian club to Fifa, the world governing body. “If Inter are interested, why do they not call me?” Wenger said. “I haven't had a call from anybody. It is not destabilising for me at all but if they want to buy a player from us, they call me and accept the answer they get. You never hear me talking about players who are under contract somewhere else.

“I find all the talk completely disrespectful. Yes, Mancini is being disrespectful with his comments; yes, it is something we would consider making a complaint about. They [Inter] can call us or we shall report them to Fifa. The way they proceed is absolutely unacceptable. We will not accept that between big clubs.”

Hleb will not play again this season, after being suspended for three matches by the FA for slapping Graeme Murty, the Reading captain, in Arsenal's 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday, while Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby, Bakary Sagna and Eduardo da Silva are injured. Mathieu Flamini will miss Monday evening's game away to Derby County for the same reason and has until the end of next week to sign a new contract. “I believe he wants to stay,” Wenger said. “And we want him to stay.”

Wenger appeared faintly amused by the remarks of Thierry Henry, the former Arsenal striker and captain, that if he returned to play in England, he favoured a move back to the North London club. Henry's form has been generally poor since he switched to Barcelona last summer.

“Thierry left only last year and I think he is disappointed because things haven't gone as well as he would have liked,” Wenger said. “He has a lot to offer as a player but the whole team in Barcelona has not worked completely.

“I heard his comments, that if he comes back he will only play at Arsenal, which I find a very good statement. You can never say never but, at the moment, I do not think about that. In football, things can change quickly when you have talent, and he has plenty.”