Former Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger has admitted that his biggest mistake was staying at Arsenal for 22 years.
He made the statement in an interview about with Christine Kelly, the host of show ‘What If?‘
When he was asked about his biggest mistake, he said:
“Perhaps staying at the same club for 22 years. I’m someone who likes to move around a lot, but I also like a challenge. I’ve been a prisoner of my own challenge at times.”
The Frenchman also revealed his love for Bob Marley, something that may come as a surprise to many.
“I love Bob Marley. He’s pure class, in a chill kind of way. And his music was surprising for back then. Also, there’s something so sad about the fact he died at 35. He loved sport, music… for me Jamaica reminds me of that. Sport and music go together very well I find.”
Unsurprisingly, he also revealed that Arsenal’s record-goal scorer and fellow Frenchman, Thierry Henry was probably the most talented of all of the players he has coached.
“The most talent of those I’ve coached… Thierry Henry probably.”
Not someone to shy away from talking about his philosophy, Arsene Wenger insists a manager should aim to win and win with style – a mainstay of his philosophy throughout his career.
“My vision is that normally you need to win and win with style. Winning should be the result of the quality of your playing style and how you express yourself on the pitch.
All my life, people have told me that we need to win on Saturday. As a coach, I know that – but how?
I like to think that the paying fan wakes up the morning of the game and thinks ‘ah yes, my team is playing today’ and he will be transported to a more beautiful world than his daily routine.
I like to set myself the ambition to give him this hope, this excitement about coming to see the team play – even if I know I will let him down sometimes.
You can’t be a coach if you don’t have this ambition. Otherwise you stay in something mediocre. You must want to please people with football”