Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger finally banished the notion that he would have quit as Gunners boss if his side had lost last season's FA Cup final.
Wenger was stalling on signing a new three-year contract with the Gunners at the back end of last season, with the Arsenal boss dodging attempts by reporters in recent months to clarify whether he would have resigned from the post he has held since 1996 if his Arsenal team had lost to Hull City at Wembley.
Yet the Frenchman has now insisted he would not have ended his reign at Arsenal if his side's nine-year trophy drought was extended. His club prepares for a rematch with Hull in the FA Cup third round at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
When asked by reporters whether he would have considered walking away from Arsenal if his team had lost their final game of last season he responded: "To walk where? Walk away, no. Look, I have just won my 600th game out of 1000. That means I have won 60 percent of the games.
"After 18 years, it would not be serious to walk away for losing one game. I do my job as well as I can and I respect my contracts always."
Wenger hopes the memories of their FA Cup win will inspire his players as they start their defence of the trophy this weekend.
"It was nice to see our fans happy and it shows you how happy the club is when you win," said Wenger reflecting on the thrilling 3-2 win against Hull in last season's Cup Final.
"There was some relief because we didn't win a trophy for years and people want that. Also, after being 2-0 down after 10 minutes and they nearly scored the third goal, you know that you have very little chances of winning, so the fact that we were 2-0 down and turned it around was a fantastic relief.
"We want another cup run and we want to, if possible, keep the trophy. We have won it five times in my period [at Arsenal] so that means we know the importance that it has. What is for sure is that we have room for improvement and we have to manage to do that quickly."
Wenger hopes his team bounce back to winning ways after a hugely disappointing performance in the 2-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year's Day, but he is still planning to play some of his fringe players against Hull.
David Ospina is set to play in place of first choice keeper Wojciech Szczesny, while Francis Coquelin and Joel Campbell are expected to feature in an Arsenal side that could include a fit Theo Walcott.
However, Wenger has confirmed the match has come too soon for German World Cup winner Mesut Ozil, who is recovering from knee ligament damage.
"Ozil has been out for three months. Walcott has been out for a year," he added. "People don't realise how much time it takes to come back after such a long period."