Arsene Wenger: Frenchman enjoying time away from football management
Arsene Wenger: Frenchman enjoying time away from football management

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will return to football 'for sure', but maybe not in management


Arsene Wenger has admitted for the first time that he is considering roles other than management when he returns to football.

A year has passed since Wenger left Arsenal, and the Frenchman initially felt he would soon be back in a dugout elsewhere.

The 69-year-old has had offers from all over the world during that 12 months, with Ligue 1 side Lyon the latest in a long line of clubs linked.

Yet Wenger's focus has shifted considerably since his emotional farewell from the Emirates.

"I worked for 40 years in management. You cannot say you walk out and you don't miss it," he said.

"Originally I said I want to manage straight away again. After that I thought maybe I'll take a little distance.

"I came to the conclusion that I want to share what I learned in my life. Because life is only useful if at some stage you share what you know.

Wenger is given a guard of honour in his final game at Huddersfield
Arsene Wenger is given a guard of honour in his final Arsenal game at Huddersfield

Arsene Wenger: Feeling 'well rested' after leaving Arsenal in May
Arsene Wenger: Feeling 'well rested' after leaving Arsenal in May 2018

"I will go back into football for sure. In what position I don't know, whether that is as a manager or not. The appetite, the desire, is still there.

"I know what kind of life I have in front of me so I have to decide that now."

In London to announce a new venture with leading international football-tech company PlayerMaker, Wenger looks as fit as a fiddle - he runs 10km every day - and is enjoying his occasional stints as a TV pundit, although never Arsenal "because everything I say will be interpreted in a certain way".

Still immersed in football, Wenger now watches the Gunners "like a fan".

He added: "I support Arsenal and that will be forever. They are my club. I have given my life to this club, but I managed quite well to focus on something different.

"I don't judge. I'm happy when they win and not happy when they don't play well. But after that I try to really take a distance with it."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette celebrate a goal for Arsenal in Valencia
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette celebrate a goal for Arsenal in Valencia

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been preparing for their Europa League final with Chelsea
Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been preparing for their Europa League final with Chelsea

Like most, Wenger is unimpressed that Arsenal and Chelsea, and their fans, have to trek all the way to Baku in Azerbaijan for next week's Europa League final, and that Gunners midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan felt compelled not to travel for security reasons.

"That's something that should not happen in football, in the modern world, that politically you cannot play a football game," he said.

"It's a little bit of a nightmare. It's the same for both teams, always. A final is a final. I don't think it will affect them.

"The teams do not have such a problem, they live in ideal conditions, they have a private jet, they have nice business seats. It's the fans."

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