PAUL Arnison will learn whether or not he has a future at Darlington later this week, but if he is to be released, the full-back is delighted to be going out on a high.

Arnison's current contract expires at the end of the month and, like a number of his team-mates, the 33-year-old is due to meet Mark Cooper in the next few days to discover whether he will be offered a new deal.

Cooper has kept his cards close to his chest in the last 48 hours, but it is more than likely that a number of the squad that helped Darlington claim the FA Trophy on Saturday will be deemed surplus to requirements at The Northern Echo Arena.

Arnison, whose two sons, Harry and Alfie, were mascots at Wembley, was one of Quakers' most influential performers at the weekend.

And if the FA Trophy triumph is to be his final act as a Darlington player, the defender could not have wished for a better way to say goodbye.

"What will be, will be," said Arnison. "If it doesn't go the way I want it to, at least I'll have gone out on a fantastic high.

"If I go out on that, then I can't really complain can I? It was brilliant from the first minute to the last, and I just tried to enjoy it.

"I got very emotional walking out with my two lads and, if I'm honest, it maybe took me five or ten minutes to get into the game. After that though, I thought I acquitted myself well.

"The team were fantastic right the way through and I thought we thoroughly deserved to win it in the end."

Since leaving Bradford City in 2009, Arnison has experienced some gut-wrenching highs and lows with Quakers.

His face did not fit under former boss Steve Staunton, and he was forced to train with Darlington's youth team after he was axed from the senior squad.

Cooper's arrival offered him a route back to the first team, and he started 34 of Quakers' Blue Square Bet Premier matches this season.

"I've had some incredible ups and downs with Darlington, but that's just the way the club has been in the last couple of years," he said.

"We all know what went on last year, and I don't think anyone enjoyed being a part of it. There were some especially tough times for me personally, but this year has been fantastic."I've played nearly 40 games, which is better than I've managed for a while, and to cap it all off by playing at Wembley was brilliant.

"It would have been nice to make the play-offs, but winning a major final at Wembley at least helped to make up for it."

Having begun his career as a trainee with Newcastle United, Arnison also enjoyed successful spells at Hartlepool and Carlisle.

An FA Trophy winners' medal is one of the highlights of his career, but arguably his biggest achievement is to have earned the respect of Darlington's fans despite having been born in the backyard of the club's bitterest rivals, Hartlepool.

"I think it's probably the first time a Hartlepool lad has played for Darlington at Wembley, and it's funny to think a Hartlepool lad was involved in one of Darlington's greatest moments," he said.

"But just because I come from Hartlepool doesn't mean I don't want to give my all for Darlington. Hopefully, all the fans know that after watching me this season.

"My mates are big Hartlepool fans, but they were all desperate to get tickets to cheer Darlington on at the weekend. Everybody knows that when I'm playing for Darlington, I'm desperate to give it my all."