Arsene Wenger has likened the life of a football manager to that of a priest, in terms of the sacrifices you have to make to fully commit to your vocation.
The Frenchman is under the most intense pressure of his Arsenal career to date, and says that the work required to enjoy the moments of success and satisfaction require managers to think of nothing else but the game.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Liverpool, he took a little pop at a well-known criticism of him, by quipping “I am a specialist in masochism!
“It’s very demanding and it’s a sacrifice of your life. You have nothing else happening in your life. Basically you get 90 per cent aggravation and 10 per cent top satisfaction and you have to give everything in your life for that. You have to be ready for it.
“That’s what I always say to all the young people who want to go into this job. ‘Are you ready to sacrifice your life?’
“It’s like a priest. You’re a football priest.”
The stadium is his church, the technical area his pulpit, the fans his congregation, and the players are millionaires who nick the coins off the collection plate, or something.
Still, for all the sacrifice, Wenger sees his career as one that has made him a more rounded person.
“It has allowed me to get to the next level as a human being, to develop my strengths in what makes a human being great as well,” he said.
“To get the best out of people, that is absolutely fantastic. And of course you have disappointments, with people, with results.
“But it is as well a fantastic opportunity in life to go for what is really great in human beings, to get yourself to the next level, to improve, to invent yourself, to push your limits further up and not to have an average life.”
I love the lord and if loving the lord is wrong I don’t want to be right !
Sexual Chocolate!
I want him to reach the next level and win the Premiership too. Perhaps when he does it again he will have reached ascension.
Literally exactly why Wenger develops youth ‘I believe the children are our futureee…’
I’ve been singing “take me to the church ” since I read this. #yagunnersya
I’ll be glued to the blog tomorrow and praying we hammer Liverpool
What a friggin’ guy! Gem of a football manager. Kind of person you’d want in your life (or to be, even).
Agreed, he will be missed once he is gone. He has devoted a large part of his life, with some incredible successes, to Arsenal.
Though I’m sure the pain he feels due to his masochism is helped by the £7m he gets each year
I love it when people who faced with the reality of Arsene’s devotion to Arsenal vs gracelessness of Arsenal fans bring up his salary as a stone to hit him with. Please compare the unrealness of all this bitterness with your own jobs/situations.
“That Pedant fella who works at the pizzeria got shat on by the patrons.”
“But he’s getting a salary ain’t he?”
“What’s money got to do with getting shat on?”
“Patrons pay their hard-earned working class money, don’t they? They must have not liked the pizza.”
Devotion is a quality you look for in a dog not a football manager.
He’s paid to do a job, which he doesn’t do very well especially when compared to his past performance, and nothing else should matter.
All his emotive talk is to deflect from his inability to compete, he should grow a pair and admit he isn’t up to it anymore
A truly remarkable and representative comment. Do make a banner out of the first sentence and bring it to the games. The TV cameras are going to love that one. Atom and Humber might even feel a bit warmed by it, too.
Devotion isn’t a quality you ‘look for’, you entitled schmuck. You cherish it if you are lucky enough to ever be awarded with some.
If I could I wouldn’t let you near a dog nor Arsenal football club.
I get it you want the man to leave. I don’t get the disrespect and the utter lack of class.
What a ‘class act’ you are my friend…all the best
Wow! What a legend! Truly one of a kind. In Arsene we trust!
in reply to Niranjana
Shall point out a little mistake.
There is a ‘t’ we must remove in the word ‘trust’ then your quote will bear the strength needed.
The 1st or the 2nd “t”?
Unfortunately, he’s become a specialist in sadism as well. Maybe, like religion, he’s failed to move on for a long while now.
Amen to that, on an intellectual level he is on his own in the world of English football, sadly his detractors in the media worship at the feet of morally corrupt managers like allardyce, Pullis, redknapp and the Portuguese wanker can’t see that changing so fuck them and praise the lord Wenger !
That makes sense. After all being an Arsenal fan does demand masochism.
Took the words right out of my mouth!
So Arsene is the Pastor , Steve Bould is the Curate.
The Parish council is made up of Chips, Ken, Lord H and Ivan who form the finance committee who councel the Pastor but have no executive authority. The Pastor works on behalf of and represents the Bishop, Josh ,who in turn does the bidding of and reports to the Pope…Stan.
All sounds about right to me.
Yes the pope is the problem the pastor can be changed but the problem remains. #kroenkeoutnow
His form might have dipped a bit, but class is permanent
Its the players who need the confession box
As a fan who wants to see his club actually win things rather than celebrate qualifying for them, I really hope he retires I wished he retired years ago ago when I would say he was statically one of the greatest of all time. Its awful to say your clubs best ever manager had not won a major trophy in his at least 13 years at club. Well as long as many Londoners dont have the same ambition and are satisfied with another couple of FA Cups for the next decade the record will only get worst… But really the… Read more »
Gooner of oz I wonder if you ever knew our club ore Wenger?
There’s been times in our history where the fans would have bitten your hands, and arms off for two FA cups in 5years …..
Be thankful for what you have and stop being such a spoilt child ,,, or go support some glory hunters
Glory hunter? Glory is has great thing and I want that for my club. OK you are one of the people who are satisfied with 2 FAs for the next decade but after 1990s and professionalism in football and financial powers of top Europian teams made a kind kind of capitalism in football. The major trophies are rarly won by anyteam other than the “big teams” things like 2016 Lieceter have happened twice in 20+ years (Hoffeinhim in Germany was the other). But while all other big teams are having their share of this situation and winning more cups than… Read more »
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Some of you need to behave like actual adults, and not idiot children. If you think jokes about child abuse are funny in any way, then please find somewhere else for your ‘comedy’.
Sometimes i catch myself thinking i support Arsenal mostly because of him …and that Is Masochism ! greetings from Poland to all and especially the Arseblogger who is also ‘guilty’ of that 🙂 ps: let’s hope they produce the ‘never say die’ performance at Anfield for once !
Hello!
Wenger has to get himself a new congregation as the vast majority of this one are bored of his message.
Surely the players are the choir — inspiring with their beautiful music when they’re all in tune, but causing us (the congregation) to grind our teeth in pain when they’re off-key or even, occasionally, not all singing from the same hymn-sheet.
No Arsene you’re a specialist in talking out of your arse. But lets put aside these constant examples of hyperbole from the manager that try to deflect from his failures in getting the squad to compete for the league and ECL (again). Tomorrow’s game does represent a decent chance to get a much needed confidence boost as we enter the final stretch of the season. If we can survive the barrage that Liverpool will throw at us in the first 20 mins I am certain we will grow in the game and cause their susceptible defence and high line a… Read more »
No Arsene you’re a specialist in talking out of your arse. But lets put aside these constant examples of hyperbole from the manager that try to deflect from his failures in getting the squad to compete for the league and ECL (again). Tomorrow’s game does represent a decent chance to get a much needed confidence boost as we enter the final stretch of the season. If we can survive the barrage that Liverpool will throw at us in the first 20 mins I am certain we will grow in the game and cause their susceptible defence and high line a… Read more »
I didn’t like it the first time.
Lol….can’t think of a better reply to this you know what!
Belief is a basic concept of every religion.If members are skeptical about a religion, it faces the possibility of extinction. If they lack belief in the priest, then he must bow out to save that religion.
As are all of us. Masochist us Arsenal fans.:P
wow.class statement. which other manager talks like this?
Jeez! He’s become the specialist in talking bollocks.