In the latest excerpt from his Interlull chat with beIN Sport, Arsene Wenger says he’s fed up with the idea that winning the Europa League would allow him the chance to leave Arsenal on a high, as he’s not concerned about his image.
He also suggested that constant questioning over his future was a kind of age discrimination.
On winning the Europa League being a great way to end his Arsenal career.
“Look, when you age … it’s always the focus to do well for your club and ignore the rest. Overall, the older you get the more it becomes a bit age discrimination.
“I can accept that if results are not good enough that we are in a job that has consequences, but that perpetual thing about how old are you, how long you’ve been at the club, I find that a bit difficult to take.
“But all the rest I accept. I’m in a public job where I have to make results and I am responsible for the results.”
Whether he’d like a happy ending to his time at Arsenal
“Honestly, I am not too concerned by image because I focus on working with the values I think are important, to give my best for my club.
“I am maybe naive enough to believe that with the time going on, the perspective, the emotional context going, will stand out what I’ve done for my club – and not so much the last result, or the last game I won, or how much I will have been applauded if I stop one day.
“I believe I’m a little bit fed up with all that modern thing that is to completely take care of your image.
“I always worked my whole life with the idea it’s more important who you are than how you look, so I’m not too concerned by that.”
Arsene Wenger complaining about (old) age discrimination in football?.This is as ironic as it can get.
An absolute Gentleman.
The Interlull’s been amazing. No stress. Life’s beautiful.
No denial of his gentlemaness…if that is a word. But his time with Arsenal.. is undeniably over.
Actually it’s undeniably not over, until the end of the season. And it’s also undeniable that his contract ends after next season. It’s possible he may be sacked at the end of this season, but undeniable? Not even remotely close.
I’m sorry but it is.
No club can continue with this – the terrible results, apathy and half empty stadiums.
His time is most definitely OVER…
It is also undeniable that he should join that his mate in ‘strictly come dancing’.
But also mind-numbingly boring. How do people cope without football in their lives? Life is awful enough without having to deal with this barren no-football wasteland.
Love that’s last bit about who you are being more important than how you appear.
But, he’s also guilty of his own age games, constantly referring to his “20 years in the job to know…” as a way to deflect criticism.
It’s a tricky one, and I do respect the man completely, but he is also responsible for his references to his age/experience, often relying on it to explaining his decisions.
You do know the difference between Age and Experience dont you?!
As in, with age comes experience? For Wenger they are basically synonymous
Missing the point–sticking to your guns is an important quality for any manager, football or otherwise. You’re not always going to make people happy with all of your decisions, and some of those decisions may prove that you were wrong in the hindsight. Rather than trying to portray yourself as Mr. Perfect, it’s more important to honestly and sincerely do what you believe best. What does that have to do with his words in a press conference, if not to say that what he says about his decisions matters less to him, than getting the decision right in the first… Read more »
Wouldn’t your comment fall under nitpicking? A total waste of time seems harsh. These beIN interviews aren’t mandatory either.
All I was referring to was how he often points to his long tenure at Arsenal as a way to justify his decisions. Recently, results haven’t gone our way and therefore there naturally is criticism.
Can’t wait for our next win over stoke, I’m as excited as you are!
Beautiful critiquing. Wenger is Jekyll and Hyde.
What on earth is he going on about now?, making excuses as usual, Kroenke’s yes man has ruined his legacy. Just go Arsene you are stinking the place out – empty seats everywhere.
Is this not the same man who would only give over 30s 1 year contract extensions?
THIS .
Beat me too it. We lost some players a little bit to early because of this, yes not many went on to be hugely successful. But they left massive voids in our club.
Well, in fairness it’s not like Wenger has to worry about the cartilage in his knees
@Not Bono
But you don’t see too many coaches over 60
Good point.
He didn’t mention age discrimination then…
I made my comment before seeing yours Martin. Spot on mate.
Was that not as much about resell value as anything else though? Was that not the pre-emirates years, when we operated on a much tighter budget? I agree that, as a result, we lost certainly players prematurely but from a business point of view it actually made a lot of sense at the time. It was certainly not age discrimination.
spot on and yes but he is a total hypocrite…
Martin, you are a beauty. Wenger is selfish, and not fair to the fans and Arsenal as a club
Just leave at the end of the season. we’ve been overtaken by Spuds and Liverpool thanks to you.
Our squad is so unbalanced it’s not even funny.
Leave Arséne. We’re fed up with you
38 likes v 74 dislikes. Just goes to show there is still a 2/3 majority who aren’t “Wenger Out” ?
Until our next defeat probably
haha yeah. don’t use the Arseblog like/dislike ratio as a good measure of how many Arsenal fans want Wenger gone.
I can assure you the majority do. They’re just not very vocal.
38 likes minus the empty seats. Do the maths, monkey.
What utter nonsense, using replies to a single comment to back up your personal view on the wider issue. Scroll down and you’ll see plenty of Wenger Out comments receiving more likes than dislikes.
Don’t care if you were 45, the results have not been good enough for a long time.
Waiting for the ‘We’re fed up with you’ comments..
I’ve never really thought about his age. He’s been one of us for so long you tend to forget age.
A real gentleman with his skills fading and that´s what usually happens with age. Create one more special moment in Lyon and bow out on a high mr Wenger.
That would be great.
That is what he should have done last season with the FA cup.
Missed that opportunity and now look at us..
Win or loose the European trophy he will stay Wenger always sees out his contracts, will the board ask him to leave I doubt it so get prepared for another season of roller coaster rides. He deserves respect for his time here and his achievements and I would honour that fact
I’m sorry, I don’t care what anyone thinks. I love that this guy has been our manager.
I love that he is still our manager.
I guess you love being a mid table also ran under your manager.
Don’t get me wrong – I admire him for his achievements and what he has brought to this club – a legend in anyone’s books but time has progressed and he MUST be judged on results otherwise what is the point to Arsenal’s existence.
Might as just well sell up and build houses there because a football club has to be competitive.
33 points behind is not competitive..
“Has been” versus “will continue to be” our manager are two completely different things. He is past his expiration date at Arsenal. The club needs a breath of fresh air and new tactical ideas. I am willing to have a few failure season while the team rebuilds with a new manager. It’s the nature of the beast. Let’s win the Europa League, so we can attract good talent, get rid of Wenger and rebuild.
Always bein sports, owners of psg
It’s as though they submit the questions beforehand or what questions would you like us to ask you arsene so you can push a narrative
When ever water takes time longer time in a bottle, it tends to smell as much. We’re living in a world where todays heroes become yesterday, we’ve had enough of him, and its time to say bye bye wenger.
We had better managers in the epl and they’re sacked anytime they produce the word called failure, but for wenger even if he fails a 10es we sl allow him stay.
He can never compare himself to the likes of Aalex ferguson and co. and their achievements.
For wenger alone if he fails a hundred times, we should still allow him contract extension.
No this’s unacceptable at all, he cannot take this nonsense to man united, liverpool, or chelsea. Even everton and co. would sack him immediately.
So now he says it’s all about age discrimination. I don’t care how old he is, he’s not doing his job propertly, that’s the only issue.
I reckon Thomas Tuchel is coming in soon.
I respect Wenger.
But change is needed…
Is it a coincidence that the advertising banner at the bottom of this page is about retirement?
Its not about age.
Or experience.
Or image.
Its about results as it is with all football managers.
And results have been, pardon my french fucking awful.
He may be a gentleman, even a legend but results are the bottom line.
And 33 points behind the leaders with eight games to go is an absolute disaster.
That is what he should be judged on and nothing more..
The interview is preparing you for the fact he wants you to judge him over the 21 years not the last 2 where we’ve dropped like a stone
It doesn’t work like that.
Otherwise Mourinho would still be at Chelsea
Dalglish at Liverpool
Guardiola at Barcelona
A manager lives and dies by results of THIS present season – that is the way things should be.
Instead of walking away gracefully he is clinging on ungracefully.
Why should Wenger be judged any differently ???
Arsenal come before any manager – its just a shame so many on here have forgotten that…
If I could give 10 thumbs up to this comment from Me2 I would…..wake up people!!!!!
Me2 you’re on a roll. All I can say is “Me2″… I’ve said it before when this topic comes up, and you’ve said it here just right: club comes before any one person. And I’ll also agree with “shame so many on here have forgotten that”… I get the sense there are a lot of Wenger fans that can’t let go. Winning and high standards make for an intense fan culture, so if you don’t deliver, you’re gone. That’s part of being an Arsenal supporter, of being a supporter of a club with a huge history of success. Arsene Wenger… Read more »
Agreed. At this rate supporters will say Wenger should only be fired once his 2nd 10 year half exceeds his first year half, as that’s how things should be judged.
Last year we had 75 points. More than in a lot of seasons before. We surely haven’t dropped like a stone then. This year we are playing a really bad season in the league for the first time in 22 years. But even this season our home record is up there with al other top teams, apart from city of course. We only had a really hard time away from home for a few months. Dropping like s stone is something completely different. And the chances are still there that we will have 2 major trophies more than we had… Read more »
I want to believe that he means what he says. I tend to be naive and believe a lot of stuff that then turns out not to be true.
It’s interesting that he is saying that winning the Europa League makes no difference to his leaving. For the powers that be, I suspect that is not the case, and most fans want him to leave “on a high”.
Perhaps this interview is just reiterating what we already suspect – that Arsene intends to see out the rest of his contract regardless of how successful or otherwise he may be.
He’s terrified of leaving because he has nothing outside of football, as he has said himself
From his perspective I fear he will need dragging out
He has ten million a year in the bank.
If he cannot find something to do with that then that is his problem and not Arsenal’s or its fans.
Where in football does the manager come before the fortunes of the club?
This is about what he wants and nothing more…
But he loves the club and he is fully committed
The man who wouldn’t give more than a year contract to anyone who reached 30 talking about age discrimination. Solid gold banter.
Amazing how a bit if a lull and some half decent results and some people still think he is the right manager for us now. Generally most comments that are in any way directed towards wanting change ate given loads of thumbs down, even the respectful ones. I really do wonder what some people have to see to want change. Yes he will always be a legend but that and wanting change sooner rather than later are not mutually exclusive.
Spot on. It’s as though losing at home to ostersunds never happened. Not just losing either they played us off of our own pitch
It’s not about seeing. If we’ve learnt anything from Trump and Brexit, it’s that people are far more emotional and think emotionally than use reason, and most of all people are generally susceptible to charismatic individuals. Wenger is exceedingly charismatic, what with his intelligent uncle vibes, laced with his ability to be very introspective, very articulate and has a high IQ all wrapped in his french accent which gives him an aura of influence. As soon as he does any bit of PR; interview, photoshoot, candid one on one, etc, he’s very charming, and that instantly sways people, who are… Read more »
Fed up? If only he knew how much we have been taking…. I understand that he has been taking a lot of stress too… But sometimes you have to sit back and observe what is going on. Please arsene, don’t make them sack you.
PLEASE Whinger, how many excuses are you going to dredge up. thought the ‘Every club on Planet Earth, wants ME’ was far fetched but this. He wants to carry on like old Ken Friar ‘ take me out in my coffin style. He inherited the best defense ever, Dein got him Sol, even though Wenger thought to much money etc. Has he ever coached a player to become better???
Nice selective memory. Everything good that happens to the club, be it transfers or results is attributed to board members or players and everything bad that happens is Wenger’s fault……it’s actually laughable. I get and appreciate that fans might want change and that results haven’t been good enough, but to suggest that every single positive is down to others and every single failure is down to him shows a complete lack of perspective and fairness. Dein was a massive loss for us…. Wenger chose the players he wanted to buy and Dein got the deals over the line. Now is… Read more »
Another person who absolves Wenger of his part in this mess. Do the board have to take a share of the blame? Absolutely, but it is clear that one man has been allowed to control everything and have little to no accountability. No other club in Europe is run like us and for good reason.
Has he though? That’s all I’m asking. Does he decided exactly how much we offer for every player etc? Does he decided how much to offer players for contract renewals etc? I don’t think so. I posted the other day about how Ray Parlour said how angry Wenger was over the whole stupid Suarez bid. I don’t absolve him of all responsibility, I just don’t lay every bit of blame for every issue at the cub at his doorstep. If you choose to look at it though such narrow framework, then good for you, but I dont. I personally feel… Read more »
I firmly believe that there is no chance that Arsene Wenger will be sacked at the end of this season. The board, despite fan unrest and protest, despite results, will honor his contract. I believe they will do this because above all else they prioritize honoring the clubs’ greatest ever manager and they do not wish to acrimoniously stain the history of the club with his sacking. Would they let him leave if he decided to call it at the end of the season – yes of course. But that’s not going to happen. Even if Arsenal win the Europa… Read more »
Definitely a lack of cojones in the boardroom.
It will take an EL flameout AND massive merch or season ticket sales problems, at least.
They simply don’t care about the little people and their “tantrums”.
Hallelujah – there is a god.
What the hell has happened to comment thread and people’s pics here? It looks disturbing.
Nobody cares how old you are, Wenger: you can be past it in your mid fifties – just look at Maureen. And Ferguson was still doing the business at nearly 70.
No, we want you out because you are now a sad reflection of the brilliant boss you were fifteen years ago. You’ve put yourself before the club and are clinging onto a job you can’t do any more.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself and just go.
I care about the image of the club and not about wengers legacy which has already been badly damaged. I love what wenger has done for the club but for the last 10 years he has failed badly at building a competitive side.
what image is he talking about I wonder.
Skyfall by Adele “on my mind.”
Probably an unpopular opinion with a certain section of the fanbase, but I hope they put up a statue of Arsene after he leaves.
Too true, just because I want him out now doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate all he has done
If Arsenal wins the EL (and that’s a big IF) there is no way Wenger is going to resign: he’ll want that last shot at CL football and one last try in the PL.
For those who want both the cup and Arsene gone, I’m afraid that you are in a “have your cake and eat it too” situation.
I’d go with the cup without a shadow of a doubt. What about you?
age discrimination? Is he going senile?
I think there is an unfair perception that a new young manager has progressive ideas and an older one is stake and stagnant. Naturally this plays rather strong with Wenger over recent decade because we have had close to similar results without sufficient improvement so there is merit to some criticism that he has gone stale. BUT if we think of age, Fergie was still rolling with the punches right till the 2013 season conspiring to make things work in his more machavellian approach. Even Wenger has adopted different approaches to formation although he has in general been self handicapped… Read more »
As far as time up is concern, As I mentioned several seasons back, I’m not sure why people are so fussed and get their knickers in a twist. He is likely to go sooner than later. He hasn’t delivered on our higher goals but he has been until recent season extremely consistent with his minimal finished and has re-added cups over 3 of last 5 seasons. I think this season could be the swan song. Whether he wins the Europa and creeps back into CL is the big issue. If he does, the options before him are to bow out… Read more »
Wenger, should go skiing and see whether old doesn’t matter. Surely, this man does not know when to stop, we must help him.
Wenger is of course a perfect gentleman. He is a good coach too, but not good enough to take his team to the very top, where Arsenal rightly belongs. He should quit this summer.
I suppose this to the 40 year old Eddie Howe is ‘age discrimination’ too [!!!] https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11095/10569475/bournemouth-boss-eddie-howe-dismisses-link-to-arsenal-job
Wenger out.