The new season has already seen Arsene Wenger placed under yet more scrutiny at Arsenal and the Frenchman has now revealed that he could have left the club last summer.
In a candid interview with French television programme Telefoot, via Gianluca Di Marzio’s website, the 67-year-old was asked whether he hesitated before signing his contract extension at the Emirates Stadium:
“Yes, it’s true, I considered leaving Arsenal. I’ve been here for twenty years, I thought of leaving for personal reasons. Continue or quit that was what I was pondering: we struggled last season, so I thought of leaving. This season we started poorly, but we can be champions.”
Such has been the length of Wenger’s era at Arsenal that few can imagine the Frenchman managing elsewhere. However, this notion was rejected by Wenger when asked if he could potentially manage at another club: “Yes I could, there were contacts with PSG.”
On a more positive note, Wenger was asked about French and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, to which he replied with a simple declaration of: “The best player I managed at Arsenal.”
Wenger was tipped to make a bid for the ‘new Henry’ Kylian Mbappe this summer, however, Arsenal were priced out of the market for the now-PSG star. When asked about the £140m transfer fee, the manager said: “He’s a phenom, he can be the new Pele’, he has no limits.”
As aforementioned, Wenger has suffered a poor start to the season with Arsenal and will return to Premier League action off the back of two losses to Stoke City and Liverpool respectively. The play Bournemouth at home on Saturday, and will hope to return to winning form.
