Wenger: I was lost when I left Arsenal but I’m ready to return

Frenchman admits he’s missed cut and thrust of management since Gunners exit

ARSENE WENGER has insisted he “does not feel retired at all” as he targets a return to football in the New Year.

Wenger’s 22-year spell at Arsenal ended in May but he would like to get back into the game in 2019 after “receiving enquiries from all over the world”.

The 68-year-old Frenchman, who won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups with the Gunners, was reportedly approached to replace Slavisa Jokanovic at Fulham before Claudio Ranieri succeeded the Serb on Wednesday, while he has also been linked with German giants Bayern Munich.

“I remember [the first day of unemployment] very well,” Wenger told beIN Sports. “I was a bit lost because you have time in front of you, which was never the case before. You always have a problem to sort out and when you have sorted it, there is another one coming straight away. The next game is always a target in your life.

“It’s very difficult, but I took it as a challenge. I don’t like to look back, I always look in front and try to think where my next level is.

“I don’t feel retired at all, I’m basically a competitor. There are many things I don’t miss at all, like all the stuff around the game you have to deal with nowadays. But the day, the competition. The achievement that you can do it together, sharing emotions, sharing competitions, ups and downs — you miss that.”

Wenger’s final seasons at Arsenal were soured by declining performances on the field and increasingly bitter disputes among the fan base.

While some remained

loyal

to Wenger, others became convinced that his time at the club needed to come to an end - and the latter group grew stronger with every poor performance that the team delivered.

Wenger was succeeded by Unai Emery last summer and the Spaniard has made a promising start to his job, taking the Gunners on a 16-game unbeaten run, during which they have started to look more competitive against the best teams in England.

Even Neymar — the Brazil star who is said not to have always seen eye to eye with Emery during their time together at Paris St Germain — has praised his former coach for the start he has made at Emirates Stadium.

Yet despite the way his time in north London ended, Wenger’s appetite has not been diminished and he rejects all talk of retirement.

“The problem is that people want to ut you always in cases; ‘retired’ or ‘finished’. As long as you have an appetite for life, you always want to be useful and do something which is useful.”

He continued: “The big advantage I ever — in the game 35 years without stopping — is sharing what I know with other people.

“If you don’t do that, life is a bit useless. If you cannot share what you’ve accumulated or, at least, try to give some of it to other people, everything you’ve done looks useless.

“You should not leave this world without trying to give something to other people. When I look at my life I had one quality: to listen to other people who had been there before me.”

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