Arsenal have handed veteran full-backs Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn a timely boost ahead of the sell-out clash with Bradford City.

Manager Arsene Wenger has told the long-serving duo he wants to retain them for an additional 12 months when their contracts run out at the end of this season.

Dixon, 36 next month, and Winterburn, who is four months older, both signed new one-year deals a year ago and would have been available on free transfers now if Wenger had decided against extending their contracts into next season.

Their performances in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United in the Gunners' last outing - when Dixon captained the side in the absence of injured Tony Adams and Winterburn replaced £4million Brazilian defender Silvinho after just 24 minutes - made up Wenger's mind for him although the Frenchman said before the game "they are a long way from being finished here yet".

Winterburn, who had lost his place in the starting line-up in the six previous games, had openly expressed doubts about his Highbury future.

He said: "I never had a say in the matter. It's not really my decision about staying another year but they obviously want to keep me.

"I spoke to the boss and I've said I need to be playing games. I don't want to let anyone down and to play only once every four or five weeks is no good to me at all.

"There's no way I can keep my mental sharpness and physical strength by doing that. In an ideal world, it would be fantastic to finish my career at Arsenal - but I'm not sure that will happen."

Dixon's continuing good form had alerted his home-town club Manchester City but now any prospective buyers will have to offer fees for the players - as Sunderland did when they signed 36-year-old centre-half Steve Bould for £500,000 from Arsenal last summer a few months after he had signed a new Highbury deal.

Winterburn, who joined Arsenal from Wimbledon for £400,000 nearly 13 years ago, has now made 570 first-team appearances while Dixon, bought from Stoke for £500,000 in 1988, is on 535, but both are still well short of David O'Leary's club record of 721 and Adams' 608.

Adams, who has been out for a month after a stress fracture was discovered as the reason for a foot injury, is back in full training along with Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp who has missed the last 12 matches with groin and calf injuries.

Wenger decided not to play them in the reserves against Coventry on Tuesday but has still not ruled out the possibility of naming them in the squad tomorrow - possibly as substitutes.

Winger Marc Overmars' return from an ankle injury sustained against Sheffield Wednesday in December looks like being delayed until the home clash with Liverpool a week on Sunday.

Meanwhile Liberian striker Christopher Wreh, a non-playing substitute in the Manchester United game after a three-month loan spell at Birmingham, has now joined Dutch club Den Bosch on loan for the rest of the season.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.