Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reflected on his 11 years at the
club and talked of why they are the club for him.
Arsene Wenger signed a new contract with Arsenal last Friday, and
has talked to the official club website, in an interview, about his
time in North London.
Asked what he recalled of his first day as Arsenal manager, Wenger
replied:
"My first day? I remember landing at the airport and having my
first press conference. That was my first day. I saw this press
conference again recently and I thought my English is really
terrible so at least I have improved that since."
In response to a question about whether there was any moment that
convinced him Arsenal were the right club for him, Wenger
said:
"Yes. I have had many moments when I have felt down because we have
lost a big game but I never ever had any doubts that I did not have
the support of the club. When I first arrived many people talked
badly about me and I never had the feeling that there was any lack
of trust or support from the board. I have never felt disappointed
on that front. As for all the rest well you are ready to suffer and
work very hard for your success. This job is difficult without the
support of everyone at the club. Without that you have no
chance."
Had his ideas about Arsenal before he arrived changed since doing
the job?
"I had the vision of a very traditional and very efficient club. A
very stylish club. What has changed? We have always tried to
respect the values of the club. It was like that when I arrived but
afterwards we have tried to adapt to the modern game. That means
there is more of a foreign influx and we have been open to outside
influences. We have become more international and more
sophisticated in our approach to the game. But we try to keep that
way of believing in our strength to integrate the sophisticated
approach that you need for the modern game."
Wenger also told www.arsenal.com: "I have had many surprises but
perhaps the biggest one is how big the potential is for this club.
That is was shown when we played that Champions League game against
AIK Solna. It was the first time we had gone to Wembley and we were
sold out against a Swedish team. That was when you realised how big
the potential was at this club. That was my biggest
surprise."
Asked how Arsenal had influenced him, Wenger replied:
"It has changed me certainly. How? First of all I have worked very
hard in the last 10 years. I must say I feel much more mature than
when I arrived. They helped me mature because of the huge
responsibility that I have. It also strengthened my belief in what
is important in the game. I could check my beliefs because the club
gave me that kind of freedom. That is very important in the life of
a manager."
Has he influenced Arsenal? The Frenchman said: "I am not in the
best position to answer that question. I hope in a very positive
way. We want to make happy the people who live the club and I hope
that I contributed to that."