Arsene Wenger’s 22 years at Arsenal ended in April. In the meantime, he has had time to consolidate his thoughts, work as a World Cup analyst and most recently, give an interview to RTL’s Christine Kelly. In the 40-minute conversation, he answered many questions regarding his coaching philosophy, the best and worst players he ever coached and dealing with press, regrets and mistakes etc.
Arsene Wenger
Wenger has often been criticised for overstaying his welcome at Arsenal and has been blamed for years of underachievement. He has always taken those accusations in stride, firmly believing in what he does. His principles and moral values are what has guided him through the rough times.
This is what he had to say about pressure from the press:
They ran a lot of stories. A lot of lies. Listen, it’s a public-facing job and as such you are subject to attention, to rumours. You deal with it by staying focused on the task at hand and letting rumours and lies be exactly what they are. If there’s nothing concrete behind it, then it won’t stick.
And this is what he said about his coaching philosophy:
My vision is that normally you need to win and win with style. Winning should be the result of the quality of your playing style and how you express yourself on the pitch.
He also mentioned that he would love nothing more than to see a team playing on the exact same wavelength for a whole match in harmonious excellence, something his 2003/04 unbeaten Arsenal was close to achieving on a game-to-game basis. Two players from that team have entered coaching waters – Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira and this is what Arsene had to say about their future:
Often, I’m asked if Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira will be good managers and I always answer yes. They have all the qualities; they’re intelligent, they know football, they have excellent skill sets but do they want to sacrifice what needs to be sacrificed. It’s an obsession which bounces around your head day and night. You wake up at 3am thinking about team selection, tactics, formation…
It shows how involved and enamoured with the game Wenger was (and probably still is). It’s his passion, his addiction and to the point where he admits it has affected his family.
I regret having sacrificed everything I did because I realise I’ve hurt a lot of people around me. I’ve neglected a lot of people. I’ve neglected my family, I’ve neglected many close ones.
When he came over to England, Arsene Wenger was a relatively unknown and the French Radio interview included a short phone call with the man who brought him over from Japan – David Dein. This is what he said about Wenger’s qualities as a coach:
Quite simply, he’s an incredibly intelligent person who knows football like the back of his hand. He has incredible integrity, he’s organised, motivated and has a great sense of humour.
The two remain close to this day, with Wenger calling Dein “a one-man travel agency”.
The 68-year-old Frenchman had a surprisingly honest answer when it comes to his biggest mistake.
Perhaps staying at the same club for 22 years. I’m someone who likes to move around a lot, but I also like a challenge. I’ve been a prisoner of my own challenge at times.
So, what does the future hold for the former Arsenal manager? Well, he is still pondering it.
I’m asking myself the same question! Do I keep doing what I’ve been doing, what I know. Or do I share all the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years in a slightly different way? That’s the question I need to answer in the next few months.
For now, he’ll probably try to make up for lost time with his loved ones.
Full video here.
