‘I’m a football priest’, says Arsene Wenger
LONDON: Arsene Wenger has compared being a football manager to entering the priesthood as both jobs involve making all-consuming personal sacrifices.
The 67-year-old Frenchman has been at Arsenal for 20 years and is hoping to extend that stay with a new contract at the end of the season although there have been calls for him to leave with the Gunners facing the likelihood of no silverware.
Wenger, who brought the last of his three Premier League titles to the north London club in 2004, made the comparison about the priesthood when asked about Barcelona handler Luis Enrique’s decision to step down at the end of the season and the stamina needed to coach a top club.
“I think everybody experiences that in a different way,” said Wenger.
“What I can say, yes, it’s very demanding. It’s a sacrifice of your life. You have nothing else happening in your life.
“Basically you get 90 per-cent aggravation and 10 per-cent job satisfaction and you have to give everything in your life for that. You have to be ready for it.
“That’s what I always say to all the young people who want to go into this job. ‘Are you ready to sacrifice your life?’ It’s like a priest. You’re a football priest.”
Wenger, who was plucked by the Arsenal board from relative obscurity coaching Japanese side Nagoya Grampus Eight back in 1997, said football management had its down sides but for him it had improved himself immeasurably as a person.
“I am a specialist in masochism,” he said. “I believe as well it allowed me to get to the next level as a human being, to develop my strengths in what makes a human being great as well.”
Wenger faces perhaps a pivotal few days with regard to his future.
On Saturday, Arsenal play Liverpool and on Tuesday will try to overturn a 5-1 deficit from their Champions League last 16 tie with Bayern Munich. — AFP MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Growing uncertainty over the futures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney threatens to overshadow Manchester United’s all-important quest to return to the Champions League.
Ibrahimovic, the former Paris SaintGermain striker, has been a huge success during his first season in England yet recent comments have cast doubt over whether there will be a second.
Ibrahimovic’s 26th goal for United was the winner as they beat Southampton 3-2 last Sunday to secure the League Cup, their first major trophy under Jose Mourinho’s management.
But asked if he would trigger the 12-month extension option in his one-year contract, the former Sweden international said: “We have another two months of the season to go. Let’s see how I feel, the situation. “Somebody made up a story that if we don’t qualify for the Champions League, I will not extend. It has nothing to do with that.”
The 35-year-old has played his part in a very good spell in the cup competitions for United since their last Premier League fixture on February 11.
His hat-trick saw off Saint-Etienne in the Europa League last 32, he netted the winner against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup fifth round and scored twice to see off Southampton at Wembley.
Already dropped from the starting XI, Rooney has played no part for United for the last month, firstly as a result of a muscle injury and then because he needed root canal treatment to sort out a dental problem.
The club captain was an unused substitute against Southampton and has become an increasingly peripheral figure at Old Trafford despite breaking United’s all-time scoring record in January.
The 31-year-old is understood to be considering a return to his former club Everton, whose manager Ronald Koeman admitted on Tuesday that he was interested in signing the England captain.
MINGS NOT FAZED United, unbeaten in the Premier League since October, are guaranteed to climb up from sixth place with a win against Bournemouth at home on Saturday because the two teams immediately above them — Liverpool and Arsenal — play each other the same day.
A fourth-place finish would mean Champions League football after missing out this term and midfielder Ander Herrera said: “We are playing every week now and the manager understands perfectly what we need.
“Already, we have to focus on Bournemouth as we have to be in the top four. We want to play in the Champions League next season.”
Central defender Phil Jones is ready to return after a month out with a foot injury, but attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan remains a doubt after missing the League Cup final with a hamstring problem.
Without a win in their last seven league games and having suffered four successive defeats, Bournemouth head to Old Trafford in danger of being dragged towards the bottom three.
Eddie Howe’s side sit in 14th, four points above the bottom three, but with a number of teams below them showing signs of improved form, the Cherries must halt their slide quickly.