As Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s nineteenth season in charge of the Gunners fast approaches the soon to be 66-year-old has started to think about how his life will be when he leaves the Emirates, and it scares him telling the Daily Mirror.
“Yes, it crosses sometimes my mind. But for no longer than five seconds – because I panic a little bit,” smiles Wenger.
“When we played at Manchester United last season, Sir Alex Ferguson came to meet me after the game.
“I said, ‘Come on, you don’t miss it?’ He says to me, ‘No’.
“He’d had enough. He goes to every game when he can. But he has horses. I have no horses.”
Wenger turns 66 in October with retirement looming ever closer, but while trying to seem as relaxed as possible the football obsessed Frenchman is looking forward to what should be a very exciting season for Arsenal saying his enthusiasm is as great as ever it was, even though some of the abuse he suffered at the hand of fans last season still hurts.
“That is not a problem, honestly. I am more committed than ever for that. I just think the number of times you have done it doesn’t count. It is how much you love what you do that counts,” he says.
“And the love of what you do is not necessarily diminished by the number of times you’ve done it.
“Football is new, every day. That’s a big quality. It makes you question. Because with every defeat people say, ‘What is this guy doing?’
“Every three days, you are questioned – you have an exam every three days. You have no way to look back, you have to prepare the next exam and come out of it with success. So it always demands 100 per cent commitment.”
It was a new test for the Frenchman when he was showered with abuse following the 3-2 loss to Stoke City back in December, after the Gunners slipped 13-points behind league leaders Chelsea.
“I have big experience and experience helps you anticipate what you will face,” he says.
“I did not necessarily anticipate that. Even here, there are unpredictable responses. You would not necessarily expect people to insult you on the way to the train, but it’s the way society has gone and you have to go with it. You can take it or not take it.
“I can, as well, take a distance from that. I know the same people can be excessive on one side and the other side too. That’s where experience helps. You have a good assessment of who you are. And you’re not influenced by what people say, whether that’s on one side too positive and on the other side too negative.”
As you would imagine from a man of Wenger’s generation he does not involve himself with Twitter or Instagram-I must confess, I avoid that” he laughs- but then it would only be distracting him from his job to read what the fans have to say about him and his team.
“If you ask me will we win the title I will just say we want to. I have said being a manager is to promise winning and survive losing. We will try and give absolutely everything but it will be a very open competition and I believe again there are five to six competitors.
“I promise we will fight to win it this season, but it is difficult. You cannot guarantee that in the Premier League. I just say we feel we have a chance — all going well.”
In the past Arsenal has shot themselves in the foot by selling their top players such as Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy.
Yet this summer no player of importance has left the club, and they have brought in a world-class goalkeeper in Petr Cech to help them compete for the title.
“Before, I was more exposed to, ‘Who will go?’ Now the question I get more is, ‘Who will come?’ That means our potential in the market has changed a bit. We now have the stability that gives us and we didn’t have that before in our squad.
“In the past, even in pre-season I have thought, ‘We can’t win the Premier League’ because when you lose your best players and see opponents strengthen, when they are already stronger [than you are], then it is impossible.
“Our heaviest defeat last season was 2-0. It was against Chelsea ,we have reduced the gap and I believe we are ready to go further.”
When asked how big a difference Petr Cech will make Wenger replied: “Abramovich has caused us enough problems,” he grimaces, “but I think Cech can help us challenge for the title.
“He can help us by the continuity of his performances and by developing our young goalkeepers, who are top talents. He can strengthen belief in the team as well. When you sit in the dressing room and look around you, you need some people who give you confidence. Always.”
Arsenal must face Chelsea in the Community Shield a week on Sunday and Wenger disputes that Arsenal has a mental problem whenever they face Jose Mourinho’s side.
“We don’t have that. It’s been created by the media. I don’t believe in that at, all. When you have a good enough team you beat them.” he says. “Chelsea has lost against weaker opponents than us as well.”
