With the debate and speculation surrounding Arsene Wenger and the question of whether this will be his last season as the manager of Arsenal Football Club, we are seeing a lot of suggestions about who may be in line to take over from the Frenchman. At the same time there is the question of which club Wenger could be managing himself next season after he declared that he was not quite ready to hang up the zippy coat.
As reported by Sky Sports today, it does not look like it will be the Catalan giants FC Barcelona. Wenger was asked about his interest in the job during his press conference this morning because the current Barca boss Luis Enrique has announced that he will step aside at the end of this campaign and the Arsenal boss was pretty emphatic with his negative response.
He replied, “No, my preference has always been the same and will remain the same.
“I am not looking for jobs in other clubs or jobs for other people. I am just focused on me getting to the next level and trying to improve.
“I think [to be a] competent manager is to always try to improve and to see what you can do better. To reinvent yourself. That’s what I always try to do. That’s it, basically.”
So why do you think that Wenger is not interested in the job at the Nou Camp? Could it be that the expectation to achieve trophy success is so strong there? Enrique is clearly feeling it even though his side are currently on top of La Liga, even if it is only by a point from Real Madrid who have a game in hand.
There is still a good chance that Enrique could guide Barca to retain their status of Spanish champions and make it three on a spin. They are also favourites for the Copa Del Rey and could make it a trio of doubles under Enrique. He won the Champions League in 2015 but maybe they have been a bit disappointing in the competition for the last two seasons.
Even so he has done great things but is still under pressure. Compare this to Wenger at Arsenal, where year after year the board has no hesitation keeping him on without getting anywhere near the title. Are you really surprised that our manager is not too keen to go to Barcelona?
Bob.