Arsenal vs. Swansea: Arsene Wenger's Key Pre-Match Press Conference Quotes

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted on Thursday that Hector Bellerin's long-term future lies at the Emirates Stadium despite recent rumours linking the Spaniard with Barcelona and Manchester City.

Per the Times' Paul Hirst, the 21-year-old right-back could be tempted to return to Barcelona—where he spent time in the academy—or to reunite with former Blaugrana boss Pep Guardiola at City.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal's Premier League clash with Swansea City on Saturday, Wenger revealed that the Gunners will try to tie Bellerin down to a new deal—his contract expires in 2019—and made assurances that he will remain with the north London club, per Hamish Mackay of the Daily Mirror:

"

He has nearly three years to go [on his contract]. We always try to get the players to the [financial] level where we think they deserve to be.

We will try to extend his contract. His long-term future is here.

He has been absolutely fantastic. His first game was a nightmare. The season before he was at Watford, where he didn’t play. His progress has been brilliant because he has absolutely top mental strength.

He is at a team that meets his needs and values. He came at a very young age. He is an Arsenal player.

"

Arsenal have been on an excellent run of form recently, winning five matches on the bounce in the Premier League to move to third in the table ahead of the recent international break.

Swansea's new manager, Bob Bradley, will be taking charge of his first Premier League match, but Wenger warned against complacency at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

A 2-1 home defeat to the Swans late last season effectively ended the Gunners' title hopes, and Wenger called on his players to pick up a routine win on Saturday, per Alec Shilton of the Sun: "We had a very negative experience against Swansea last season, which killed our opportunity to win the championship. We need to show we can deal with fixtures where we are the favourites."

Wenger also provided an update on the state of his squad's fitness, revealing that striker Olivier Giroud and midfielder Aaron Ramsey are both still unavailable, per the Evening Standard's James Olley:

As a result, Arsenal are likely to set up as they have for most of the season, with Alexis Sanchez playing as the striker and Mesut Ozil behind him in the No. 10 role.

There were fears Ozil may have picked up an injury after he played just 45 minutes for Germany against Northern Ireland on Tuesday, but Wenger said there should be no problem, per Arsenal's Twitter account:

Given the respective form of both teams—Swansea have picked up just one point from their last six league outings—a home win for Arsenal will be expected by many.

However, as Wenger warned, the Gunners have a history of slipping up in matches they are expected to win, and the French manager will likely put out his strongest possible side in an attempt to pick up all three points.