I should have left the Emirates to take another job, says Wenger
Arsene Wenger has revealed for the first time his regret at not leaving Arsenal earlier than 2018.
In a new documentary, Arsene Wenger: Invincible, which was written by the filmmaker and journalist Gabriel Clarke, Wenger described the years at the Emirates Stadium after 2006 as “my suffering” but argued that his achievement of keeping the club in the Champions League until 2017 was perhaps the best of his career.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager, suggested that sections of the fan base should be “ashamed” at Wenger’s treatment during a period when Arsenal were “bare” in the transfer market as they paid off their stadium debt.
Wenger, who has been working for Fifa since leaving Arsenal 3½ years ago, described the departure of vice-chairman David Dein in 2007 as a “decisive” moment when he himself almost left.
“I identified myself completely with the club – that was the mistake I made,” Wenger said. “My fatal flaw is I love too much where I am ... where I was. I regret it. I should have gone somewhere else.”
The film charts Wenger’s life, from his childhood in Alsace to his remarkable 22-year tenure at Arsenal, culminating with the 2003-4 “Invincible” season and then the Emirates years, which became so defined by fan division over his position as manager.
Under him, Arsenal did not win the league again after 2004 but did add three more FA Cups and numerous further appearances in the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Wenger said: “Sometimes I wonder – was something broken after that Invincible season? 2007 was a
decisive point. It was the first time I could feel there were tensions inside the board. I was torn between being loyal to the club and being loyal to David [Dein]. I still today wonder if I did the right thing because life was never exactly the same after. I thought, ‘I have now to go to the end of this project’.
“I could have gone to the French national team. The English national team twice or three times even. I could have gone twice to Real Madrid. I could have gone to Juventus, Paris St-germain, even Man United.”
Of the Emirates years, Wenger said: “We started with a project at £200 million, which we could basically afford, then we finished at £428 million.
“Before, we lost them [the best players] at [age] 30 plus. After, we lost them at 25 plus.”
Of his departure and the fact that he has not been back since, Wenger said: “Now there is no special reason for me to go there. All the rest is purely emotion, and that is less important. It is the end of your life – at least of one life – like a funeral. The end of a love story is always sad.”
Of Wenger’s achievements, Ferguson said: “I think Arsene and myself are dinosaurs but we didn’t do so badly. I won 13 leagues, but never near going through a season undefeated. The achievement stands aside – it stands above everything else.”