Arsene Wenger says he has had plenty of job offers since announcing his plans to leave Arsenal this summer, but he remains no closer to deciding where he will go after his tenure ends.
The Frenchman deflected more questions about who his successor at Arsenal should be, but agreed that the club should try to make an appointment well before the World Cup starts in June.
Wenger’s 22-year-reign as Gunners boss is in its final week, with only two Premier League games at Leicester and Huddersfield left. The 68-year-old has no plans of retiring, though, and said he has already received a number of job offers.
“Yes. More than I expected,” he told a news conference on Tuesday, without disclosing from where.
“I want to work well until the last day of my contract. And then, after, I will rest a little bit and think about where I go from there. What is sure, I will be active. My brain demands work and is active. And I have a huge experience in management and the subtlety of people management. So overall I will work. What will I do, I don’t know yet.”
Wenger seemed to rule out managing another English club, though, saying: “At the moment that is difficult for me. I don’t envisage that at the moment.”
Arsenal are expected to make an appointment before the World Cup starts next month, and Wenger agreed that should be the target.
“Yeah of course. I think the earlier the better now,” he said. “People want hope, and they need as well time to prepare for the next season. I must say the squad doesn’t need much. Because there is a huge potential in there, there is a good spirit, a good basis. We need two, three additions and this team will compete for the championship next year.”
Meanwhile, the speculation surrounding his successor continues, with Juventus boss Max Allegri and former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique among the frontrunners.
Wenger has repeatedly said he’s staying out of the decision-making process completely, and wouldn’t comment on whether a more experience manager like Allegri or Enrique is needed to fill his shoes.
“All these guys are very competent and they are all good names and choices,” he said. “Anyway, I will be like every Arsenal fan, I will wait until they’ve made a decision and after support the guy to do well. It’s better I stay neutral. If the club wants my advice I will give it to them.”
Wenger also extended a special thank you to David Dein, the former Arsenal vice-chairman who made the decision to hire him in 1996.
“He had a special vision for the future, for the Premier League and as well he gave me, a foreign manager, a chance when nobody knew me here,” Wenger said. “And he was always a consistent support for my 22 years, so I think he deserves from myself a special thank you because he’s a special man.”
© AFP
