ARSENE WENGER has turned down the chance to manage Champions League teams because of his loyalty to Arsenal.
But the Frenchman has not ruled out a return to the dugout despite just turning 71.
Arsene Wenger revealed his desire to return to managementCredit: Getty – Contributor
Wenger left the Gunners in 2018 after 22 years at the club and admitted the last two years have been a ‘grieving process.’
It is the reason why he hasn’t been able to take up a new role despite receiving job offers.
But as he watches his former player Mikel Arteta take his first steps into management with the Gunners, Wenger admits the desire is still there.
He told the Daily Mail: “Yes, I’ve still got the desire to manage.
“I still think I can be useful somewhere else, that I can be efficient somewhere else.
“If the phone rings now, I would be tempted to say yes. I’ve said no before. It has rung. I’ve had offers. From big clubs, in the Champions League.
“But I was at the end of a love story of 22 years. It meant some suffering, some thinking, so I felt I needed time to reflect on what I did, what was right, what was wrong. I was stamped too much with Arsenal.
“It was like a grieving process.
Arsene Wenger admitted his loyalty to Arsenal has kept him away from a jobCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“I built every stone of the training ground. I chose the plates, I chose the stairs. Everything inside.
“I was building every aspect of the technical area at the stadium with the architect, so much time there, too. And then, suddenly, you cannot go there any more.”
When asked on whether he could ever manage a different Premier League team, Wenger responded: “In England it’s difficult for me to go somewhere else.
“I’m stamped Arsenal and I want to stay like that. When I see an Arsenal shirt, to me that is “we”.
“But somewhere else? Maybe, I don’t know.”
Wenger also revealed how he could have quit Arsenal back in 2007.
Real Madrid, England and Paris Saint-Germain have courted the Frenchman.
He added: “Maybe when David Dein was sacked in 2007 that was the moment when I could have said bye-bye.
“I could have really hurt Arsenal had I left then. And I did have options.
“Real Madrid twice, Paris Saint-Germain two or three times, England two or three times. It was difficult.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
