Arsène Wenger is being courted by leading football figures to announce a late challenge against Gianni Infantino for the Fifa presidency.

Senior executives, including those within Europe, have been encouraging the former Arsenal manager to run for at least six weeks, sources tell Telegraph Sport.

Wenger, along with a second mystery candidate, remains the focus of key Infantino opponents who believe he would pose a genuine threat to the Fifa president.

Time is running out ahead of the Nov 18 deadline for candidates, and the next week is viewed by insiders as critical for Uefa as it weighs up who to throw its weight behind.

If Wenger and the other mystery candidate decide against running this week, Uefa will rally behind Kozo Tashima, the head of the Japan Football Association. “It remains an unpredictable situation,” said one insider with knowledge of discussions.

Wenger publicly condemned Infantino’s controversial World Cup sell-off plan as the Fifa. In August, he described its abandonment as “absolutely necessary and beyond question”. But at 77, Wenger, Fifa’s chief of global football development, may yet conclude he is too old to run.

However, admirers of the Frenchman say he has an “almost unique blend of qualities” that would present a realistic prospect of stopping Infantino, who already appears to be on the campaign trail for next March. L’Equipe, the leading French title, also reported on Friday that Wenger would make up his mind in the coming days.

On Friday, the Caribbean Football Union announced it will endorse Infantino for another term after he visited the region. Support from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as swathes of Africa and South America, is likely to result in Infantino easing towards the 106 votes he needs to secure re-election unless a serious opposition campaign gathers pace.

Tashima, who has been on Fifa’s ruling committee since 2015, says his candidacy is “not about winning or losing but about conveying to the world the honest, sound and upright attitude that Japanese football has built”.

Scandals continue to plague Infantino

Hopes of more candidates coming forward have been buoyed by Infantino facing another week of scrutiny over his personal conduct while in office. Documents emerged on Wednesday showing his presidential office requested VIP treatment for his daughters and their dogs on a personal trip from Miami airport to Qatar.

A Fifa spokesperson said: “Port courtesy requests were made to Miami international airport (MIA), on the advice of a former adviser to the Fifa president. Port courtesies are provided at no charge to the president of Fifa given his position as the head of an association or NGO. Mr Infantino’s family members are also entitled to request these services under MIA’s own Courtesies of Port Handbook and these are also provided free of any charge, on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of MIA.

“Fifa urges the media to act responsibly when reporting on children.”

There has also been consternation at the top of the game after investigations by Telegraph Sport, along with a similar report in the New York Post, detailed how Infantino told Carlos Cordeiro, his one-time top go-between with Donald Trump, to help secure a work permit for an immigrant maid at his luxury Miami home.

On Tuesday, Fifa responded by “firmly” rejecting “any suggestion of wrongdoing” surrounding the working circumstances of the housekeeper, whose identity is known to The Telegraph.

On Friday, Emilio García Silvero, who served as Fifa’s chief legal and compliance officer for the past eight years, announced he was stepping down from his position to begin a new professional chapter in Madrid.

His departure was the most recent high-profile exit since Kevin Lamour left his role as Fifa’s chief operating officer in August, claiming that Infantino’s World Cup plan had “deceived” administration at the governing body.

As controversies continue to swirl, there is a strong belief that new challengers will emerge, potentially by Wednesday.

Telegraph Sport reported last month that secret candidates were being lined up to launch a late campaign against Infantino.

Uefa is not understood to have had any active involvement in pushing Tashima forward. Ramon Vega, the former Tottenham defender, also announced he would run. However, it remains doubtful that Vega has the backing of five of Fifa’s 211 member associations, which is required to take a place on the ballot. Vega has previously attempted to run for the role three times.