Former Arsenal star Manu Petit has revealed how Arsene Wengers
man-management ability brings the best out of his players.
He is very intelligent, said Petit, but his main quality is the
relationship he has with his players. Football is business. Arsene
understands that. But he shares a tight bond with his squad. Not so
much on the football side, but as human beings.
He does not miss a trick. You could sometimes see him watching you
get out of your car in the morning. He would pick it up if you
didnt look happy. Hed ask you about it - and he would expect you
to tell him the truth.
Hes very open. He trusts you. If I had family problems, or if I
was feeling tired, he would leave me out or take some action that
would help me. There wasnt anything you couldnt tell him. Hes
very open. He brings humanity into it.
Any problems you could talk to him about. But if you lied to him,
or pretended with him, that trust would go quickly.
Hes the best manager I worked under. It wasnt about money or
fame or ego. It was about the person.
Petit also told the Daily Mail: You might say that the first team
he built at Arsenal was not that pretty. But remember that was in
his first season. The players, the supporters, the media, the
people he worked for - they did not have the confidence in him from
the start.
So, we had to go another way. We had this fighting spirit, this
toughness on the pitch. We won the Double. It was not beautiful
but, all of the time in training, we would play one touch,
two-touch. That has always been the same. That has carried on. Only
now people have the confidence in him.
It has just snowballed from the early days. We did it then, but it
has become almost second nature now to the players at Arsenal. All
of them, from the youth system upwards.
It has always been his way. I can give you an example. I remember
when I was 18 and playing for Monaco. There were some brilliant
footballers in that team, people like Glenn Hoddle. In training,
once he pointed at me and told me in front of everyone that I had
class been the best player on the pitch, because when I received
the ball, I controlled it with my first touch and gave it with my
second.
He is into receiving, moving and passing. Thats the key. He sees
people who are confident and have the ability to do that. That is
his talent.
I think he wants to create a brand of football at Arsenal. The
Arsenal way . . .
I remembered the other tiem when
he said that Arsenal would crumble to pieces without Thierry...but
now..hmmm