Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said the news of talks between the club and Carlton Television had taken him by surprise.

He said: "I am unaware of this because I have had no contact today with Ken Friar or any of the other directors."

But Wenger, who spoke earlier this week voicing his concerns about the possibility of multiple media empires taking over major clubs, said: "I can understand the worries of the fans.

"Their concern is that the people who own their club should also love it. They don't want it to just become a business.

"It is the history of football in England that club owners are in the game for things other than business reasons, but the game is changing all the time.

"If it is only one club like Manchester United who have so much financial power, because of a new ownership, everything becomes very difficult for the others.

"They can pay your players three or four times the salary which they earn and you would then not find it possible to keep them."

Meanwhile, Wimbledon chairman Sam Hammam yesterday insisted manager Joe Kinnear "was not going anywhere."

Kinnear has been linked with a move to manage his former club Spurs since the sacking of Christian Gross last weekend.

Kinnear has won widespread respect for the way he has kept the unfashionable south London club in the top flight on limited resources.

But Hammam is adamant his close friend will not be leaving the club he has managed with remarkable success since 1991.

"I can clearly say this question (of Joe leaving) will not arise," said Hammam, who has been at the club for 21 years.

"Joe is not just a fantastic manager, he is more than that. He is a good friend. I really feel special to have Joe in our team and I think Joe feels special to be part of it."

If Hammam needed any convincing Kinnear was a manager worth holding on to he received plenty of first-hand evidence on Wednesday night at Upton Park.

Wimbledon were three down to West Ham within half an hour and were 3-1 down at half-time and looked dead and buried, but Kinnear had other ideas.

Hammam said: "I went into the dressing room at half-time and the thing that struck me most was Joe telling the players that even though they were 3-1 down they were going to win the match.

Wimbledon's ultimate plan still revolves around finally getting their own ground and the oftmooted plan to move to Dublin is still in Hammam's mind.

"Dublin is a reality if we want to do it. In my opinion it's 100 per cent certain if we are fully committed to it but at this moment in time we still have other options," he said.

Wimbledon's options on the pitch have famously been limited by their finances although Hammam remains unworried by rocketing prices and prefers not to get involved in the over-inflated transfer market.

And he is somewhat surprisingly grateful to Sky - painted as the villains in the Manchester United takeover - for their contribution to English football.