Pace of Bundesliga might suit Wenger
WHEN one thinks of Arsenal, you can’t help but think of Arsene Wenger. Even their names were made for each other.
The former Arsenal boss called time on his 22-year reign at the Gunners in May after a reasonably successful tenure in north London. He was a non-entity when he was appointed in 1996 with many in the Premier League and even the Arsenal squad themselves asking, “Arsene who?”
He immediately revolutionised his squad who were filled with beer-drinking, sluggish Englishmen who probably didn’t take themselves seriously. Wenger changed all of that. He inspired them to be better, to train harder, to prolong their careers. He changed their diets and even the way they chewed their food.
Striker Ian Wright recalled recently that Wenger instructed him to chew his food right down to bits. That way the nutrients would be ready to be turned into energy when he needed it.
Dubbed “The Professor” because of his academic qualifications and his fluency in multiple languages, Wenger wasn’t a popular man in the dressing room in his early days. He actually confiscated some of the team’s chocolate bars and after they had won a match, the entire dressing room sang, “We want our Mars Bars back”.
He insisted on a new method in managing sportsmen and in the long run, it did help them win the league in his full season in charge and prolonged some of their careers. This is why the League Managers Association handed him the Service to Football award at a glitzy ceremony at Wembley last Thursday.
Wenger has not been short on ceremonial honours to add to his three Premier League titles and record seven FA Cup triumphs from his Arsenal tenure, having been handed a similar prize at the Leaders Sport Awards in October and been made a Knight Grand Commander of the Humane Order of African Redemption by a former player of his, Liberian President George Weah.
“Since I don’t compete anymore, I get a trophy every week,” he joked. “How stupid was I not to understand earlier?”
However, if reports in Europe are to be believed, the Frenchman could be back at the helm of a huge football club very soon. Another of his former players, Emmanuel Petit, let the cat out the bag by recently saying Wenger “is going to manage soon” when talking to The Sun. “I had a conversation three weeks ago when I was in Dubai. He was with a friend of mine. There are big rumours in France about him taking over as Bayern Munich manager. Some say he is going to Madrid. I don’t believe it. Some say there are big things at Paris Saint-Germain as a sporting director.”
After a stuttering season, it does seem that a move to the German giants would suit both parties. Wenger clearly thinks he has more to offer and perhaps he does. The slower, more technical Bundesliga could just be the place for Arsene Wenger to rise again.