WENGER: THIERRY & PAT CAN BOSS IT

ARSENE WENGER has revealed his pride over Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira following him into football management.

“It makes me very happy because at least I have not put them off the job of coaching,” joked the former Arsenal boss.

Ex-gunners striker Henry has started his first head coach role at Monaco this week.

And his old Arsenal team-mate Vieira (right) took over at Nice during the summer.

Wenger, 68, was back in action himself yesterday in a charity match in France where he played for an hour in a team alongside World Cup winners Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc.

And asked about Henry taking over at his former club Monaco, he said: “Him, like the others, can be proud of their achievements as a player and he can start as a coach at a high level.

“He will make his own way. He is very intelligent, he has the necessary qualities to succeed.

“After that you need to have good players, believe in them, have a bit of luck, and, above all, be in a favourable environment.

“Personally, I had this luck in all my clubs and I hope he is allowed to express himself and is given time. Because when you become a coach you think you are always going to win, but the good coaches are the ones who survive disappointments.”

Henry (above) takes over Monaco with the 2017 French champions in 18th place after winning only one match this season.

But Wenger told L’equipe: “Only two clubs go down and there are no worries for Monaco with that squad. In football, you can never swear to anything, but nobody today can think Monaco will go down.”

Asked about his own future, Wenger said: “I have decided not to work before January.

“It was 35 years without stopping. Across the world, practically no one has done that. So the break was welcome.

“But my body, all my being is used to that. I like to win – I hate to lose. And where I find the most excitement is in football.”