WENGER’S BAYERN COMEBACK

Gunners legend set to return to management as Munich giants make him their No.1 target

ARSENE WENGER is open to making a sensational return to management with Bayern Munich.

The German club have the former Arsenal manager at the top of their list after Ralf Rangnick ruled himself out.

Wenger is understood to be interested and ready to talk to Bayern, who sacked Niko Kovac as boss on Monday.

The 70-year-old was close to landing the job last season during a poor run of form for Bayern, only for Kovac to turn things around.

But the final straw was a 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

It is understood Bayern are looking to appoint Wenger odds-on favourite with some bookmakers – until the end of the season, while he wants a more permanent role and that could be a sticking point.

Bayern are believed to be interested in Paris SaintGermain boss Thomas Tuchel and Ajax’s Erik ten Hag as long-term targets, while Max Allegri and Jose Mourinho have been linked with them.

Wenger, who earned £8million a year at Arsenal, has not hidden his desire to return to management, which is why he has stalled on an offer to become new FIFA technical director.

The chance to take charge at Bayern would be hard to turn down for the Frenchman, who still lives in London. The closest he got to a return was with Japanese club Vissel Kobe, but no agreement could be reached on a start date in the summer.

Wenger confirmed to beIN Sports – for whom he does regular TV work – that he could be interested in Bayern.

“Coaching was my life and everybody who has coached will tell you the same,” he said. “You miss the intensity.

There’s some things you miss a lot, and some things you don’t miss. So I even enjoyed things I don’t miss too much.

“But on the other hand, winning football games, preparing a team for a game, developing players and getting satisfaction and shared emotions is something you miss.

“So of course yes, I was responsible at 33 years of age and coached until 69 without interruption at top level. That is 36 years without stopping.

“So on the other hand, even if I miss it, to get a little bit out of that pressure for a year was not too bad for me – people who know me well say I’m more relaxed, it’s true.”

Bayern, with Hansi Flick as interim coach, last night reached the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Olympiakos.