The outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has made it clear that he is keen to carry on managing next season, and he has said he will find it difficult to stay in the Premier League and end up bringing a new team to the Emirates, so most of us have assumed that he would be given a job by his good friend the Qatari PSG President Nasser Al Khelaifi.
Unai Emery was replaced as the coach at the French giants by Thomas Tuchel, but Wenger was reported to have been offered the Director of Football position to assist the manager.
But now Al Khelaifi has made it clear that the current occupant of that position will not be moving aside to make room for Arsene. The Shiekh was asked about a job offer for Wenger and he said: “He is a close friend, I have a lot of admiration and respect for him and for everything he has done in football. He is a great man. He is one of the first people I spoke to before buying the club. And he told me one thing that I have never forgotten: “You are buying a diamond and you must prune it and make it shine.” Arsène, I don’t know what he will do, but he will have a lot of offers. Today, the sporting director, is Antero Henrique and he will stay.”
So it looks like Wenger will not be going to the obvious destination, and he has implied he has no idea yet of what he will be doing next. He said just a couple of days ago: “I have not even emptied my desk yet and in a way, I am still in a state of shock.
“I am going to give myself until June 14, the day before the World Cup begins, to decide.
“The question is do I still want to coach, to be on the bench, or is it time to take up different functions?
“The one thing I can say for sure is that I will continue to work.
“But do I want to continue to suffer as much? I want to continue to defend my ideas of football, that’s for sure.
“Spontaneously, I would say I still want to coach, but I can’t really say that yet for sure.”
Would anyone like to suggest the perfect job for Arsene next season?
Darren N