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A colossal elephant has been helping himself to tea and biscuits in the Arsenal boardroom whenever the subject of Arsène Wenger’s successor has been raised in recent years, but the club could soon be shot of the mighty metaphorical beast.

Before his 60th birthday on Thursday, Wenger expressed his wish yesterday to continuing working in football for as long as he is physically able.

Wenger will review his commitment to Arsenal every two years after his contract expires in 2011, but confirmation of his reluctance to retire comes as a huge boost to a club living in fear of the day he chooses to walk away.

Having turned down Real Madrid on several occasions, it is unlikely that Wenger would accept a job elsewhere unless he was surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium, so Arsenal can look forward to retaining his services for as long as they can find a job for him, even in a different capacity.

A potential role as director of football has already been discussed, while the club will also consider offering him a position on the board when his days in the dugout are done.

“I’d never want to stop, touch wood, if I had health,” the Arsenal manager said. “I would want to work as long as I lived, but adapted to my potential. It doesn’t always need to be physical work, it can be more intellectual. I have to assess every two years because the way I work, it’s very hands-on. I don’t delegate a lot so it is hard work, but I don’t want to stop.”

Wenger’s extraordinary work ethic is reflected in his attitude to his looming red-letter day, which will barely be acknowledged, never mind celebrated. The Frenchman will spend his 60th birthday at the training ground, then the club’s annual meeting, before returning home to watch matches from the Europa League on television.

On his appearance before the shareholders at a question-and-answer session in May, Wenger became engaged in a heated exchange with several fans, whose attitude is likely to have altered after the team’s encouraging start to the season. Apologies will not be sought, but should be offered to a man whose commitment should serve as an inspiration to all.

“I have nothing to celebrate,” Wenger said. “I am in a job where you always look in front of you. It [the birthday] will be very quiet. I have the AGM. We have a big game on Sunday again and Thursday night is the Europa League with the fifth referee system. They are responsible for my ageing, so I have to watch that.

“I’m convinced the fans believe we have a chance this season, which was not the case at the beginning of the season because of our league position. Everybody in October still has a very good chance to win it.”

Wenger credits his players with keeping him young, particularly the current crop whom he describes as the most exciting he has worked with in 13 years at the club.

Samir Nasri (broken leg), Tomas Rosicky (knee), Eduardo da Silva (thigh), Nicklas Bendtner (groin) and Theo Walcott (knee) did not travel to this evening’s Champions League meeting away to Alkmaar, yet the visiting side still look full of goals against the Dutch champions, who have been inconsistent since Ronald Koeman replaced Louis van Gaal as coach at the start of the season.

Walcott’s enduring injury problems — the 20-year-old will be out for several weeks and will miss England’s friendly against Brazil next month as a result of the knee injury he suffered against Birmingham City last Saturday — have been offset by the magnificent form of Robin van Persie, who Wenger compared to his legendary compatriot, Marco van Basten.

“In terms of goalscoring, potentially this could be my most exciting team,” Wenger said yesterday. “We’ve shown that up to now, and there are still some offensive players who have not contributed yet, like Nasri, Rosicky, Walcott and Eduardo.

“I think Robin is a Van Basten-type, by which I mean he’s a technical centre forward. He has that classy first touch, sharp movement and a short backlift. I always thought he was more a first striker than second striker.

“I love him there because he has a brain, can play others in and can score. His movement is intelligent around the box and if we score a lot of goals a big part is down to him.”

Alkmaar’s preparations have been overshadowed by the bankruptcy of their owner, Dirk Scheringa. The Dutch central bank seized control of Scheringa’s DSB bank yesterday because of a lack of liquidity, plunging the club into a funding crisis that puts Arsenal’s long-term worry about replacing Wenger into perspective.