Hull City vs Arsenal - Mike Phelan grows frustrated as Hull uncertainty continues

Hull caretaker boss Mike Phelan admitted to growing frustration over the club's on-going takeover saga but said he remains confident of becoming manager on a permanent basis.

Phelan confirmed he is now considering an offer made to him by Hull this week but was not sure when his own future would be resolved, while the club is currently in talks with two different consortiums keen on buying out the Allam family.

"We are in discussions," said Phelan, whose side take on Arsenal at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday.

"We've had a week of trying to sort things out and we're still at that stage. Nothing has transpired which has made me put pen to paper just yet, but it is on-going.

"It's one of those things where there's still the background of takeovers and non-takeovers and I find myself just in the middle of that at the moment, trying to sort out my future.

"There have been discussions this week and there will be discussions probably after the game and into next week."

Hull vice-chairman Ehab Allam, whose family have owned the Tigers since 2010, had said at the end of last month that the club hoped to finalise a takeover deal before the end of the international break.

That deal is understood to have been with a Chinese consortium headed by a brother and sister partnership of Dai Yongge and Dai Xin Li.

The Premier League is continuing with its owners' and directors test but a second consortium, Chien Lee's Chinese/American consortium, has entered into talks with the club and Phelan admitted the complexities were clouding his own future.

"I think it is part of the issue yes," he said. "I don't really know what the situation is as far as who's involved any more and how far discussions have gone.

"But everything seems to come back to a deal, a non-deal, depending on who's in charge and that is possibly a frustrating thing from my point of view."

The second consortium is reported to be led by Chien Lee and his American partners, who purchased an 80 per cent stake in French Ligue 1 club Nice earlier in the summer.

"There's a lot of speculation out there that it was going to be sorted this week and I have to question myself how that's going to happen sometimes when I know what's going on as far as my future goes," Phelan said.

"But it will be done when it's done, that's all I can say. I don't see it as an overriding concern.

"We have an owner. We have a family that owns this football club and they've put a proposition to me, which I need to think about and discuss before I take things further."

Phelan, who continues to be backed publicly by his players, is preparing his side for a daunting run of fixtures, with the visit of Arsenal followed by an EFL Cup tie at Stoke and then league games at Liverpool and at home against Chelsea.

Club record signing Ryan Mason and fellow new recruit Will Keane made their debuts off the bench in last week's 1-1 draw at Burnley, while Phelan hinted his other new signings - Markus Henriksen, David Marshall, James Weir and Dieumerci Mbokani - would have to be patient.

"The players who have started and continue to be in the team are in the team for a reason, because they're getting results and putting performances in," added Phelan, who has no new injury concerns.

"We want that to continue. They're in the box seat. They've done ever so well and it's up to them now to continue that before I need to make selection issues."

Arsene Wenger has revealed his plan to use Granit Xhaka as a box-to-box midfielder, suggesting he still plans to re-shape his team.

The B£35million Switzerland international is yet to dislodge Wenger's preferred central midfield pairing of Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin, but the manager is adamant he is capable of more.

After watching his team improve with the Coquelin-Cazorla pairing allowing his creative players freedom in the final third, Wenger appeared to be tweaking his starting XI with the additions of striker Lucas Perez and defender Shkodran Mustafi.

Xhaka was expected to vie with Coquelin, Cazorla and Mohamed Elneny, but the manager's intention is to use the 23-year-old in a new role in his team.

"I personally prefer him as a box-to-box player," said Wenger. "Because he has the engine, he has the power, he has the long pass. He likes to come deep and distribute the game, but he has the engine to have the impact with his runs.

"It's not about his quality at the moment - he adapts to the pace of the English game - and for me it's about pairs as well, who work together. Coquelin and Cazorla have worked well together. He will play games; every week he's stronger and better. He will have a huge impact

"We are (in) September; we started in August so it's one month. Many players take time to get into the team; he will do that without any problem.

"He and Elneny are top-class players. There's big competition in midfield at the moment but I'm sure both of them will get in the team.

"We lost our first game; you go a bit for stability. (Xhaka's) highly-focused - Elneny as well - they are top, top quality."

Wenger hopes to again have Theo Walcott available for the clash, but Aaron Ramsey remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, Gabriel Paulista remains short of match fitness and Olivier Giroud requires a late fitness test after receiving a knock.