“It was very tense in the corridor that day,
because it was a match that was difficult to
swallow,” Wenger says now. “We were both
very competitive and very aggressive, and he
could be excessive. I could be excessive too,
so for a while it was tense. But then slowly,
as ever in life, you put things into perspective
and respect dominates after that. When he
made that presentation to me, I felt it was
the end of a story of two people who fought
hard for their clubs – it showed that fierce
competition had been replaced by respect.”
Jose Mourinho, then United boss, joined the
presentation, too. The Portuguese manager
had previously aimed notable jibes at Wenger
- labelling him a “voyeur” and a “specialist
in failure” – but the Frenchman insists their
relationship is better today. “I believe things
have calmed down,” he smiles. “We’re not in
competition any more.”
Wenger’s Arsenal goodbye was naturally
moving – for all Gunners fans, and particularly
for the man himself. “It was very emotional,
and we had a really nice evening after that
with my friends,” he recalls.
“It was difficult for me afterwards. I’ve had
good discipline in my life and I’ve continued
to watch football like I was still in the game,
but you were inside the club every day, inside
something that was happening, and then you
are outside of it. I don’t want to complain, but
for any person anywhere in the world, it’s an
adjustment that’s not easy when you’ve been
involved so much.”
For two years, Wenger has resisted going
back for a match – partly out of respect for
those trying to take the club forward without
him, eager not to cast a shadow. But having
been so heavily involved in the move from
Highbury to the Emirates, helping to guide
the Gunners’ plans as they took shape, he’s
contemplating a visit.
“I have still not returned,” he says. “Every
stand, I was there to build with the architect,
and the pitch, so one day I’ll have to go there
and touch it. There are two buildings in my
life which are very important. Highbury – the
listed wall where I sometimes went – and of
course the Emirates, because it’s been a big
part of my life. It was 2006 when we moved
there, and we’re in 2020 now. The club have
invited me to go back for a match. I thought
I’d keep a distance at the start, but after two
years, maybe it’s time to return.”
Current boss Mikel Arteta spent five years
under Wenger as a player – lifting the FA Cup
as captain in 2014 – and has expressed his
gratitude for the advice he’s received from
his former manager since taking over.
“I’ve spoken to Mikel once and encouraged
him,” says Wenger. “It seems to me that he
has a grip on the team, and that they have
corrected their weaknesses by recruiting the
right players. Let’s hope we can get back to
where we belong this season – that means
to the top four.”
Last November, Wenger took up a new role
as the head of global football development
at FIFA, splitting his time between London,
Paris and Zurich. His aims include improving
the pathway for youngsters in all countries,
so that no matter where they hail from, they
have the same chance to make it in football.
He’s also eager to create a research centre
in Zurich, focusing on the enhancement of
teaching methods, the laws of the game and
development of technological metrics. It’s
very on-brand for Le Professeur, a man who
incorporated data analysis into his methods
at the start of his coaching career, when it
was pretty much unheard of.
Since departing Arsenal, Wenger has been
approached over a return to management –
and publicly declared his interest in doing so
if the right offer came along. But that hasn’thappened yet, and he’s increasingly
uncertain whether it ever will – he turns 71
not long after this interview.
“There is a chance that I may not return,”
he concedes. “I’ve had a few offers – I didn’t
count them, but I’ve had offers in England,
offers in France. I didn’t do it because I felt
like I needed to take some distance with it.
Do I finish with Arsenal? I managed 1,235
matches for them, plus 12 or 13 years before
that. I still have the passion and I still would
want to, but when I’m offered the challenge
I reply, ‘No, thank you’. Something is holding
me back. I don’t know what that is – maybe
I feel, ‘Don’t make one fight too many’.
“With FIFA, I create academies online, and
I’m creating a research lab – we have a very
sophisticated computer analysis of the game
that I want to set up, so I’m staying informed.
That’s where I stand at the moment – I want
to put that in place at FIFA. If I still have the
hunger to manage afterwards, I’ll do it. But
right now, I don’t like to start something and
not finish it.”
Whether he returns or not, his status as one
of the greatest managers in history is secure.
“I believe my legacy is that I tried to win,
and win with style – to give moments in life
to the people who come to the stadium,” he
reflects. “When you’re a supporter, you want
to come to a stadium and really experience
something that takes you out of your hard
daily life – because no matter what our work
is, daily life is difficult. I wanted to give them
a special moment in their life.
“I believe we played some fantastic games,
even from 2006-18. Those moments when
you go and see a team play fantastic football,
they’re not only linked with the titles you win.
They’re also linked with all the moments you
share with your friends, when you feel free.
For me, those moments are forever.”
Wenger created moments that Arsenal
fans will remember for the rest of their lives.
Fifty years from now, people will still speak
about the great Invincibles team of 2003-04,
and the rest of that remarkable era.
It all started with that game of charades,
and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Thanks to
Wenger, Arsenal’s dreams became reality.MORE On FOURFOURTWO.COM
- Wenger at Nagoya Grampus Eight: how he
rediscovered his great love (by John Duerden) - Quiz: Can you name all seven of Wenger’s
FA Cup-winning Arsenal XIs? - Year Zero: the 1999-00 season that made
Thierry Henry at Arsenal (by Joe Brewin)
“I WILL LOVE THIS CLUB UnTIL THE LAST
DAY OF MY LIFE. EVERY TIME I SEE A RED
AnD WHITE SHIRT, I WILL SUPPORT IT”
Top Bidding adieu
to the Emirates – he
plans to return soon
Above Fergie “could
be excessive, and so
could I... but slowly
respect dominates”ARSEn E
WEn GERImagesGetty Images; PAFourFourTwo.com The Managers 59