Arsene Wenger admits coaching in Germany is a possibility when he draws a line under his time at Arsenal.
The 64-year-old, who was born in the Alsatian town of Strasbourg on the Franco-German border, has repeatedly turned down overtures from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich during his 18-year tenure in North London but says that his cultural affinity with the country means it’s a destination that retains appeal.
On the cusp of penning a two-year extension at the Emirates, Wenger told French channel Bein Sports (translated by the Evening Standard) said:
“If I was to go somewhere then I think it would be in a different country because I am so much Arsenal that I would not like to coach anywhere else in England
“Germany [is an option] because I am of German culture a little bit and it’s a country where I have never worked and I am very close to it.”
Given his comments at the weekend there’s no suggestion that Arsene is thinking about walking away from Arsenal in the near future, but of course he can’t go on forever.
International football doesn’t appear to tickle his balls much, so a move to Germany (if he fancies another challenge) would make sense, although PSG may well have something to say about that. Either way a continental move would ensure any successor wouldn’t have to endure a Fergie-esque presence hovering over proceedings from the stands.
Guess, we’ll just have to see what happens.
I actually really hope Wenger retires at Arsenal. For some reason I would genuinely hate seeing him as manager of a club that isn’t Arsenal. Not quite sure how to explain this exactly but I think you guys might understand what i’m saying
Its one of those situations, if I can’t have you no one can!
Podolski playing head tennis with a Sea Lion
http://www.espnfc.com/blog/_/name/thetoepoke/id/6924?cc=4716
I love that gif.
No I’m afraid I do not understand unless its a pure emotional situation for you. I wish he would go to somewhere right now. We would see our money well spent instead of bargain basement buys and cripples from Russia. We are about to sign another Frenchman who may be good enough for Newcastle but is definitely not who I would sign for Arsenal – not at half the quoted price – go and get a guy like Costa and pay the price! However as I have so often said on these blogs – the big boys do not want… Read more »
That’s true.
If only we could buy experienced internationals at big prices from the biggest clubs in the world…
ÖÖh I see
Is it just me or does Mesut Ozil seem totally nonplussed about wearing the shirt?
I think that’s just you
yeah, definitely just you !
Still unanimous, it’s just you.
what shirt?
Who ‘you’ would sign for Arsenal?
I’m probably not the only one hoping you are on the shortlist for the manyoo job.
It’s like seeing an ex on a date with someone else. Yes you may have replaced her, but it still feels weird
No it’s not, it’s like setting her free … be a man.
Unless of course we meet her new boyfriend in the champs league and we wake up with a black eye, or worse.
As much as I would like AW retire at Arsenal, it’d be interesting to see if he could have a similar impact on another club. Class is permanent!
Disagree, for me it’s more give the man what he wants.
He can’t really give us anymore and if he feels he has more to give then let him go, set him free etc. etc. (gay oh lay, I know)
Legend whatever he does next, rather that than let let it eventually turn sour, I have a feeling the premier league is now so competitive that it will go wrong and we’ve all heard how bitter and spiteful fans can get, even gooners.
Let the man leave as a legend.
He deserves it.
A job swap with Guardiola then?
Unlikely, but Arsene would want to manage at a top top club. There are currently only two of those in the Bundesliga: Bayern and Dortmund. This may change over the next two or so years, but Arsene at Dortmund is a very enticing proposition! (Of course if we get Klopp in return 😉
Arsene at Dortmund would be sick! He would kick Bayern of their perch in no time. Their transformation would be ridiculous How good their gonna get if Wenger goes to Dortmund. Although he’d be working on a much lesser budget but he’s good at that.. working with very limited resources.
Guardiola has only succeeded with an already dominant team with a single style of play. Barca. And he couldn’t replicate it on the CL level with BM. Yes, they won the. Bundesliga, but other than fluke years that is a give for BM.
I don’t think he can build a team up to the top.
And Barca under him was boring as fuck to watch. Sorry, but it’s true.
Agreed, ,many have been critical of Bayern becoming just as boring to watch
Revisionist nonsense
What is so revisionist? They had one ‘bad year’ by their standards 07-08, but other than that they were point to point with Real for the top of the league, as ever. Team already trading league dominance with Real, and almost all of the players that took the treble in 08-09 were already there.
I always manage to find someone here here that makes me think, “waht teh fcuk?” o_O
It would be like watching your beutiaful ex girlfriend with another man – just heartbreaking 🙁
I reckon we’re split 50-50 in terms of Wenger In or Wenger Out but I bet 99.9% of us will miss him when he’s gone.
The only thing I’ll miss is winning the coveted Wenger trophy of finishing fourth and than having to hear about all the injuries. The injuries are his own bloody fault – if he updated the Arsenal strength training program to more modern methods we would be able to strengthen up players like the German china doll costing us 42.5 and others like the weaker players he seems to prefer … a la Wilshere, RvP was another, and poor old Diaby etc. Ozil sits down every time he gets a bump. The premier league is twice as tough as the Spanish… Read more »
this is quite tedious to be honest but you can see Drogba’s Chelsea record here http://www.chelseafc.com/chelsea-article/article/2786732/title/ and you’ll quickly see that your assertion that he was “never injured” is total and utter bollocks (unless of course he was dropped for 25+ games a season in 05/06, 07/08, 08/09, and 11/12)
ergo, your opinion on AW’s responsibility for our own injury record is equally likely to be total and utter bollocks, being unresearched and based on a flawed understanding of reality.
hear hear
I don’t really agree with what SA gunner is saying, but your way of making a point—Drogba was injured; ergo, everything you (SA Gunner) are saying is wrong—doesn’t make enough sense.
And SA’s statement DOES make sense to you?
I’d say it definitely does show a level of disregard for or lack of knowledge of the facts in SA’s statement and certainly suggests the rest should be taken with a pound of salt.
Basically he’s spouting shite.
Could you please tell us about Arsenal’s current strength training program?
And about “more modern methods”?
I find this to be a very interesting topic and you, sir, seem to have a vast knowledge of it.
I think you’ll find he heard that from someone even more knowledgeable on injuries than Diaby’s ankle… You see, before he got here, he visited that site, le something.
Then maybe we can hire Liverpools masterful sports psychologist who supposedly made them immune to bad performances in important games.
Oh wait..
and then after finding said person I then find this person who makes me leave. Bye.
Wasn’t Wenger a boyhood Monchengladbach supporter?
I think he was born in Strasbourg and played for Strasbourg. Not 100% but always had him down as a Strasbourg fan.
“In spite of living near French top-flight clubs FC (Football Club) Nancy and FC Metz; Swiss clubs FC Basel, BSC (Berner Sports Club) Young Boys, FC Zurich and Grasshopper Club Zurich; and German clubs like SC (Sport-Club) Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt and, Wenger became a fan of Borussia Monchengladbach, a club over 250 miles away. (Though, to be fair, this still put them closer than his country’s capital of Paris, over 300 miles away.) “Gladbach” became a powerhouse, winning 4 Bundesliga (German league) titles in the 1970s, adding a DFB-Pokal (national Cup) and 2 UEFA Cups (2nd-tier European tournament), and… Read more »
Well, it mentions Myles Palmer so it has high credibility on beat poetry and inappropriate placing of bold red text.
As far as the football, hard to say.
I have a terrible dislike for Myles Palmer. Along the Piers Morgan category.
His name is ARSENE Wenger.
HOW THE FUCK CAN HE MANAGE ANOTHER CLUB THAT ISN’T ARSENAL.
Wenger please retire at Arsenal. Please.
Well he said coaching, it may be a case that he becomes more involved in development than becoming manager. I’ll miss him and for all that think they wont, it will be very much a case of ” dont know what you got till its gone”
He can go to Arsenal in Argentina, no?
Or Arsenal de Sarandí in Argentina.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_de_Sarandí
I’d love to see Wenger retire at Arsenal as well. He’s the club, he’s got nothing to prove, he’s perhaps the most loyal manager of recent memory (some might say it’s Ferguson, but I don’t think, he’d have been at United for 8 years without winning a trophy) and he’s just that great of a football figure. Seeing him at another club would be a bizarre thing to watch and ache quite a bit I guess..
Wenger is the man. Hope he stays for another 5 years
I wish him the best in whatever venture he chooses although I see him as a director of football operations somewhere after his days at Arsenal.
He’d be a FANTASTIC front office leader!
Fuck off Wenger.
Ed – you are a troll and a fan that has no place being part of Arsenal.
Now why don’t you go fuck off yourself. From your couch.
Sorry Ed but this is a place for real fans. If you want to be amongst the disrespectful arguing lot I would suggest Le Grove.
So real fans are happy with 4th place year on? Real fans are happy with the ineptness at the transfer window year on? Real fans are happy with the mediocrity and now used to the fallen standard at Arsenal? And real fans are happy with the 4th place trophy and humiliation at our closest rivals. We all appreciate what Arsene has done for this club and I would love to see him holding both the UCL and BPL trophies together at the Emirates. However, he is not Arsenal. And no one is bigger than the club. If he is not… Read more »
dude…just shhhhhaaadddaaaaapppppppp
I guess you consider “Fuck off Wenger” as legitimate criticism.
@Black Hei,
Hi,
Do you see me asking Wenger to fuck off? No, right? I encourage constructive discussion.
Here, I am trying to find the justification behind this blind faith – was asking some valid questions related to our relative poor 9 seasons for which the Arsene Wenger fan brigade has no answer.
You can’t expect more than 8 seasons of top 4 whilst not having resources to spend.
Are you Tottenscum in disguise?
A move to Germany (post extension to his current contract I haste to add) makes complete sense. His command of German is even more precise than his English (believe it or not), and while he always rejected delegating transfers to a director of sports, as it is the typical set up in the Bundesliga, at 66 or so he may be more prepared to focus on the shape and attitude of his team. There are plenty of clubs with plenty of tradition that would welcome Arsene with open arms. Do I hear a car key party with Borussia Dortmund? They… Read more »
I like turtles.
I would also like AW to stay at Arsenal indefinitely. He deserves an opportunity to reap the rewards of the last 8-10 years of sacrifice (£7m/yr sweetened the deal, but still…) and financial restriction.
Up The Arsenal!
I don’t know much of Arsenal’s past( Google aside) but one of the reasons I became a gooner was because of Wenger. I strongly believe Wenger deliberately applied the famous “handbrakes” on trophy winning to allow others catch up with him. he’s from the future I tell you.
Swap klopp for wenger? Intrigue ensues. Honestly haven’t been able to put my mind around another manager. Arsene has been arsenal for pretty much my entire “conscious” life. Klopp is the only other who would do it for me in truth.
So you want german move, eh? What about bringing in Germans to London instead. *hint reus, goetze, kroos
I think you’ll find he already started- Mert, Poldi, Gnabry, Zelalem, Eisfeld? But really Wenger is still very French, and lived on the border. he must be trying to conquer Germany the sly fella.
Step 1- Sign the Germans to England
Step 2- Move to Germany
Step 3- Sign the French players
He’s already done with conquering England, but he has Purdew as his lieutenant to keep up the work. heh
The French don’t really have a great record on that score though do they, but then he’s always been a bit of a trailblazer I suppose.
Uhm forgot Özil?
Reading this article made me feel a bit uncomfortable. The only time i’ve experienced this before is when I saw an ex girlfriend all over another bloke on a night out. Please retire at Arsenal Arsene.
Spot on mate. Just the thought of seeing him standing on the sidelines of another team gives me the chills, but in a very bad and uncomfortable way..
yes wenger can go to Germany……and bring back Reus, Drmic and Bender for the next season!
That would be the dream. Reus or Draxler. I’m not fussed.
I couldn’t care where he goes as long as he goes!
Would you say such a thing to Dennis Bergkamp?
Bergkamp’s bronze statue would puke all over you if it could read that.
Well no doubt you have a master plan as to who will take over and how we (Arsenal football club) will dominate Engerlish football.
However as plenty of people are willing to point out, ‘we’ won’t spend the money required to dominate so who will take over, oh that Giggsy bloke will be looking for a job soon and let’s not forget ‘Sherwood is a goonah’ seem’s we really are spoilt for choice!
Tickle Wenger’s Balls
Lovely thought
How many times has Wenger recently stated that he will sign a new deal at Arsenal? Could it just be a case of the media reading too much into it? At the end of the day nothing has has really been said, its all “ifs”.
Or the media asking the same question ad nauseum.
A master stroke by the Professor once again!
By saying he may coach the German national team in the near future, he is enticing the German youth brigade to Arsenal for the next season. Hats off to Monsieur Wenger.
He was the first to spot the trend in German players in recent years.
also whilst his early years was all about bringing in youth talent, he realised that market saturated and over inflated with the entry of City, chelsea etc all chasing the same game.
he shifted astutely to redevlopment of talent in Per, Podolski, Santi and Arteta, somewhat overlooked players (well maybe not Santi) that had the potential to be given another polish.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27290532
50m fine for City and PSG.
As I mentioned before restricted squad size in CL seems the best punishment. Out right ban will be difficult.
The squad size doesn’t seem like it will be a huge problem, for the last 2 seasons Man C used 21 players in each campaign, which will be the restricted squad size for them. What will be a bigger problem for them will be if they have to use FFP rules when paying the fine which would make sense, rather then using their oil money reserves.
Yup, spot on. The 21 man CL team is going to hurt them bad, considering that they need 8 home grown players. Currently they have 15 foreign regulars, which means 2 of them will have to sit out while guys like Milnar will have a free pass.
“Under Uefa’s FFP rules, clubs can lose no more than £37m over the previous two seasons. ”
“Chelsea made a £49.4m loss last year but registered a £1.4m profit in 2012 so will comply with the new regulations. ”
wat? I admit I’m no math or economics specialist (not even close) but 49.4m loss +1.4m profit equals 48m loss? well over the allowed 37m?
If Wenger doesn’t bring good players during th the summer then I will gladly pack his bags.
Like Ozil? for 42.3m?
Flamini? for free?
Silly.
http://www.espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1811095/bayer-leverkusen-midfielder-lars-bender-dismisses-arsenal-speculation?cc=5901 No Bender. This is the media’s wet dream. Like Wanyama, Gustavo and Mvilla before, all Arsenal Must Haves. We have bigger priorities this season : 1) RB. We need someone experienced in PL IMO. Anywhere to 15m for Coleman would be a good deal. Or maybe Debucchy a cheaper option. Anone outside the PL will be cheaper but could be a risk considering adaptation period and impact on start of season. 2) Striker . Must have. Somone dissimilar to Giroud. Likely 30-40m ball park. Benzema would be fantastic but Falcao and Costa, maybe Manzukic also options. Will be tricky… Read more »
How anyone can think a fullback should be our top priority when teams like Liverpool and Man City lead the league with trash like Johnson and Clichy is beyond me.
In other news, …”The loudest cheer of the game! Saido Berahino gives chase to a ball down the right but his legs overtake his body, he starts to lose his balance and then falls to the ground in installments, like someone attempting a run down a hill” Tom Rostance (BBC Sport)….
Rostance is one of the better text commentators. He really does have a way with words sometimes.
As much talk about lack of depth, we are really short in one critical area, up front : Otherwise we are comparable to City in quality and depth and 7 points off eventual winner (assuming we beat Norwich). We should rue the 8 points dropped at Swansea, Stoke and Everton all winnable games had we the extra quality up top. But : Aguero – ????? Negredo – Giroud Dzeko – Bendtner/Sanogo Jovetic – Podolski Silva – Ozil Navas – Santi Nasri – Walcott Milner – Ox Rodwell – jack Toure – Ramsey Fernandhino – Arteta Garcia – Flamini Boyata –… Read more »
I think you’re missing the point when comparing our midfielders to Man City’s – look how many of ours are of the same ilk. We lack variety, particularly of the defensive kind, in midfield.
In this regard with rebuilding project just missing one link (The striker), if he qualifies us for CL again and lands the FA consolation cup, I can’t see Wenger not wanting to finish what he has started. He doesn’t give up so easily. It’s his baby. There have been some bleating about how it was the fans that built the stadium which is partially true. …but without Wenger’s early success, frugality in transfer dealings and acumen in making money off those deals, plus the draw of continuous CL participation, it would be far less likely for Arsenal FCto be able… Read more »
I would love to see Wenger at Bayern Munich. It would be great to see what happens to him when his German team collapses in spring after having held a huge lead in the Bundesliga for most of the season. And it would be interesting to see the response from their fans when he tells them that finishing fourth is like winning a trophy. My guess is that at a real football club like Bayern – unlike our American-owned ‘business’ – Wenger would be out the door before he had the time to blame ‘financial doping’ for his incompetence. But… Read more »
As shitty a comment as ever. Keep it up, you might outdo yourself one if these days.
well he wont have to buy world class player and try to build top youth academy and stadium as they are already here.
I’d love to see Fats put into a pine box.
AP he wouldn’t fit …..
I do worry* what would happen to you if Arsène Wenger actually left.
Would you follow him like a stalker? Would your life (!?) fall apart having lost all meaning? Would you have to change your name to Fat-something-else? You really are a piece of work.
*Actually I couldn’t give a flapping duck.
Pine box? Classy as ever Fatgooner.
Just when I think you can’t possibly get any more obnoxious, you do.
Yeah, I would much rather be a sp*rs fan.
So how many other teams regularly finish below us, but somehow we are consistently failing.
wtf!
Some rumours abound about Javi Martinez leaving Bayern.
not a bad player to have as he plays Cback and DM. Would fit our bill perfectly as a Vermalen replacement and reinforcement to Arteta/Flamini, but not sure how prohibitive price is. Don’t think Wenger will spend ore than 10-12m in the Cback replacement.
They paid 35m for him. Can’t see them selling for much less to be honest.
I will pay all of it for Javi Martinez. I seriously believe we have a shout here. Javi Martinez has only started 13 league games and 4 sub appearances, some as a CB for Bayern.
Imagine a 1.91m, 90kg Arteta. An elegant monster.
I would love him to come to Arsenal. Absolute beast of a DM and like you say, he’s a monsterish version of Arteta. He’s also an excellent CB and can even play full back if needed. So, he’s perfect, but very pricey. I think 30m could be enough to get him out of Bayern, but probably no less. Keep Vermy (hold him to his contract) as we need depth. Same with Poldi. We may have no choice with out of contract players. I dunno, the press will probably change their minds again, but the feelers seem to be out on… Read more »
As many have said before, Drmic is not coming. He is set for Leverkusen.
Ive grown up with the boss. It would be very hard on my ticker if he left
Though leaving my ex was by mutual consent, I still get red-faced whenever I see social media posts of her and the present dude. Can’t even stand seeing the two of them together in public. Funny enough, she still stalks me on all available social media platforms. And YES, the love was really strong. And YES, she still calls my phone. Oh YES, we still talk about those bed-shattering moments and how we’ll do it again given the chance… Now Wenger, kindly stay put at Arsenal until you retire from the game. I won’t be as diplomatic as I was… Read more »
Unless I’m completely missing the point you really need to get over it, think of her as an ex-player, Stapleton, Barndoor, Nasri … *ahcuntschoo*
Not as an ex (successful) manager, who you still feel the luuurve!
I’m not even looking forward to the schadenfreude I’ll feel after Wenger leaves and the Wenger Out bloc starts whinging.
Sorry a bit off topic does anyone know where tottenhams new stadium will be based is it still close to ours??
Im worried their trying to run away aha
I’ve had chronic diarreah today. After splattering the toilet bowl with it, I stood up to flush it away. Up popped Daniel Levy’s slaphead from the U-bend demanding that I do not flush. ”This is perfect” he seemed to say as he turned his head around like the girl from the Exorcist. Then I suddenly realised I had to sit down again.
Monsier Wenger, i love this man 🙂 . He’ s such a classy and loyal man. I wish he was My grandfather, its going to be hard seeing him in another club If one day he leaves arsenal. I hope he stays forever… arsenal
The only Arsenal managers I can remember are George Graham, Bruce Rioch and Arsene Wenger, and I’m not even slightly hesitant to say Arsene is the one who created my love for this club. Before him, it was ‘the club that I follow’. George Graham and Bruce Rioch did nothing in comparison (except maybe for buying Dennis Bergkamp! – although even that didn’t turn into love until Arsene put him amongst other gods). All I can think right now is that we could end up with someone like Mourinho. Who as a man, and as a principle, is about as… Read more »
I think T*ttenhams new stadium is on the same grounds? It’s being redeveloped.
Plus I also heard they bought a bit of grass next door (which used to be ‘dog shit corner’) and they’re turning it into their spiritual home.
Apologies, dog shit corner is actually their old pitch, and the dog shits are scale statues of their historic best players!
We all know how much they want to be like the Arsenal…
SA Gunner. Have you considered becoming a sp*rs fan?
I don’t care about the thumbdowns
but I want Wenger to go
I don’t care if the new manager takes us to seventh or championship
I will still support arsenal,I have had enough of the fourth position trophies
What kind of fan doesn’t care if we end up in the Championship?
So you’re saying you view seventh place or the Championship as being better than fourth place and the Champions League? I don’t think you’re a Gunner at all, I think you’re a Spurms troll in disguise.
Sounds like you’re hoping he would leave. If so who would you take? Maybe Mourinho who is 4 points better with a much more expensive team? Maybe Pelligrini who’s a couple if games better than us with a humongous budget. Or how about Pep Guardiola who is about to get fired? Maybe you should take the job as you have the answer to all our problems and you think it should be a breeze despite us have a much tighter budget than our rivals. You have me convinced you’d have a quick answer to all the challenges that may come… Read more »
Wenger will not succeed in Germany at all, the only areas he is perfect is to develop young players, as a business man in football he should open football academy and invite top clubs to sign them.
He said “If I was to go somewhere else…”
The IF is a big part of that sentence. Just of like when someone asks you ”If you had to win 100 million, what would you do with them?”
Le professor needs a trophy, followed by a community shield. People forget how close we came to beating Barcelona. That game had a butterfly effect which transpired for a long time. We would have had a champions league then.. thierry wouldn’t have left, cesc would be there as well and we could have won a few more…but we are on the up now, next step is not to fight for fourth place with tottenham, but to compete with the big boys..and wenger is not going anywhere until we reach the top..ps wenger should be knighted for his contribution to english… Read more »
Knight a frog? What are you, a Welshman?
I wish I could down vote this comment twice
Sign in from a different IP address and you can.
He did receive an OBE (or was it an MBE? What is the difference?), along with Benitez, around the invincibles season I think.
But yeah “Sir Arsene Wenger” does have a nice ring to it.
He can rest assured the next club he will manage will not be like Arsenal. At his new club,if success ie winning atrophy within two years is not achieved he could be axed. Football is a results driven business.Clubs aint going to be satisfied with x years of cl soccer. They will want to win it. Frankly ,Wenger has it easy at the ES. As Mel ,the WBA manager correctly put it, the fm would have been axed for repeated failing in the final lap of the epl in Spain. You can bet MU will fire the new manager if… Read more »
You can bet that wherever if he goes will have more disposable cash to spend than Arsenal have had in the last 9 years (i.e. none)
Arsenal have spent £42m on Ozil and have a further £120m+ in the bank, no other club has more disposable cash
News for ronuja, we’re all a bit French, Welsh, you name it.
Although some are more neanderthal than others.
Wenger to Hansa Rostock !!
You read it here first.
Ok so now i know the Spuds aint relocating with their new stadium can someone explain how they can even afford a new stadium??
AW had to sell his best player consistantly get champions league doing so with no money and shit sponsorship deals to see us through…
So how can Spuds afford a 400M project for a new stadium without champions league without going bankrupt??
Another thing they made a loss last season wasted all the money from Bale on worthless deadwood players more than likely to make a loss this season… im telling u it wont happen what bank would lend them the momey?? its a pipe dream nothing more
My Arsenal world wouldn’t be the same without Wenger in it. But if he eventually leaves I wish he would come and coach my dear Super Eagles.
Guardiola was quite specific and said he was staying at Bayern Munich another 2 years, and Wenger is signing a 2 year contract. Coincidence?