Arsene Wenger won't retire until he wins the Premier League title again
The long-serving manager was asked about his future and how he assesses things at the end of every season and he indicated the desire still burns.
Arsene Wenger says he won't leave Arsenal until he has won the title one more time Getty,
Arsene Wenger says he is hungrier than ever, and has no plans to retire until he wins the Premier League one more time.
Having earlier spoken about how football and society are too dictated by the “now” in Arsenal’s AGM on Thursday, the long-serving manager was also asked about his own future and how he assesses things at the end of every season - but indicated the desire still burns.
“I was always hungry, but I’m more hungry than ever because the demands are higher, because I didn’t win the Premier League for a long time, and because I want to do that before you get me out of here!” Wenger laughed.
Asked whether he feels he has something to prove, having not won the title since 2004, Wenger responded: “I have always got something to prove, if I play with you now we go out there and play four v four you will see that I will try to win, we can play one v one if you want.”
It was also put to Wenger how he no longer needs to do the job financially, and that usually that hunger goes with age.
“Yes I have experience but there are two ways: you ignore your age and you live like you live forever, or you think ok – I think I am born for competition. I don’t know why, and what happened, but it is like that. No matter what I do.
“The need is the desire to compete. That’s my real need. It has never been financial. If it was financial I would not be here.”
Wenger’s press conference for Saturday’s match against Swansea City took place immediately after a rancorous AGM, and an inevitable question was whether such dissent ever causes him to take a step back. This was the cue for the Arsenal boss to launch into the most Wengerian of monologues.
No, it reinforces even more my belief. I think that the fact that really I stick to what I said because I think that the club is first about values, and in the modern game we lose a little bit the perspective of what is important and what is not. It is always here and now and forever, and the now is permanent, the judgement is permanent and forever – but it is in society as well.
"You have the same example with Brexit – it’s just here now, but where do we go from there? Nobody really knows. Maybe it is good, maybe it is bad. I don’t know. But nobody has explained what will happen in the future if we do that. So what I think about the club that has been created is first about values. I know that nobody cares any more.”
Somebody said 500 years ago the target was to be a saint for people. Fifty years ago a hero in war. Today a billionaire, even more celebrity. That is instant and here now. But it has to be sustained by something.
“I just think what I observe is the moment, at the present...what I liked when came to England the weight of the past was there and you could feel it was important. And what I wanted just to say is in the evolution of the modern society the weight of the present has become predominant to the past and the future and no matter is it a football club, you need to get that balance right.
“You have not changed, the society has changed us because of the speed of the evolution. Everybody tries to survive today. Is it in your job, in my job? You look around, it is like that. Before a guy could be with a newspaper and it was the tradition of the newspaper values of the newspaper. Today we don’t know if the newspaper will survive. Will it still exist in ten years? Everybody is in a struggle to survive here and now.”
It was inevitably put to Wenger whether the regret some people now feel at voting ‘leave’ could see parallels with his situation.
“I don’t know, I don’t know - you may have to make a poll for that.”
Arsene Wenger says he is hungrier than ever, and has no plans to retire until he wins the Premier League one more time.
Having earlier spoken about how football and society are too dictated by the “now” in Arsenal’s AGM on Thursday, the long-serving manager was also asked about his own future and how he assesses things at the end of every season - but indicated the desire still burns.
“I was always hungry, but I’m more hungry than ever because the demands are higher, because I didn’t win the Premier League for a long time, and because I want to do that before you get me out of here!” Wenger laughed.
Asked whether he feels he has something to prove, having not won the title since 2004, Wenger responded: “I have always got something to prove, if I play with you now we go out there and play four v four you will see that I will try to win, we can play one v one if you want.”
It was also put to Wenger how he no longer needs to do the job financially, and that usually that hunger goes with age.
“Yes I have experience but there are two ways: you ignore your age and you live like you live forever, or you think ok – I think I am born for competition. I don’t know why, and what happened, but it is like that. No matter what I do.
“The need is the desire to compete. That’s my real need. It has never been financial. If it was financial I would not be here.”
Wenger’s press conference for Saturday’s match against Swansea City took place immediately after a rancorous AGM, and an inevitable question was whether such dissent ever causes him to take a step back. This was the cue for the Arsenal boss to launch into the most Wengerian of monologues.
No, it reinforces even more my belief. I think that the fact that really I stick to what I said because I think that the club is first about values, and in the modern game we lose a little bit the perspective of what is important and what is not. It is always here and now and forever, and the now is permanent, the judgement is permanent and forever – but it is in society as well.
"You have the same example with Brexit – it’s just here now, but where do we go from there? Nobody really knows. Maybe it is good, maybe it is bad. I don’t know. But nobody has explained what will happen in the future if we do that. So what I think about the club that has been created is first about values. I know that nobody cares any more.”
Somebody said 500 years ago the target was to be a saint for people. Fifty years ago a hero in war. Today a billionaire, even more celebrity. That is instant and here now. But it has to be sustained by something.
“I just think what I observe is the moment, at the present...what I liked when came to England the weight of the past was there and you could feel it was important. And what I wanted just to say is in the evolution of the modern society the weight of the present has become predominant to the past and the future and no matter is it a football club, you need to get that balance right.
“You have not changed, the society has changed us because of the speed of the evolution. Everybody tries to survive today. Is it in your job, in my job? You look around, it is like that. Before a guy could be with a newspaper and it was the tradition of the newspaper values of the newspaper. Today we don’t know if the newspaper will survive. Will it still exist in ten years? Everybody is in a struggle to survive here and now.”
It was inevitably put to Wenger whether the regret some people now feel at voting ‘leave’ could see parallels with his situation.
“I don’t know, I don’t know - you may have to make a poll for that.”
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