Arsenal long time coach Arsene Wenger says he wouldn’t take the international coaching job before him.
The French tactician says it is too late for him to take up international management, successfully ruling himself out of the coaching the national teams of France or England. The coach who is 66 years old will celebrate his 20th year at Arsenal this October. He has just one year left and has openly said he wouldn’t decide on his future until the coming summer. The calls for him to leave the club finally were loudest in the last campaign when the club were sure to miss out of the Premier League trophy.
Wenger was linked to the France national team job but he was reported to have said: “I think this time has gone now. I have been asked a few times to do it. I was always busy somewhere else.”
He has acknowledged that the performance of his team in the coming season would determine his next plans. He had earlier hinted at possible retirement soon when he said he was “a bit old now to make long-term plans.”
The Frenchman, who is working as a television pundit during Euro 2016, says he just wants his country to excel at the tournament especially as the country is going through a difficult moment with fighting terrorism, strikes and other forms of unrest. He was quoted saying: “The country is a bit flat mentally at the moment, and they need a bit of happiness. Hopefully this tournament can give it to the country.”
Roy Hodgson resigned when England were knocked out of the Euro 2016 in France and the FA has set a three-man panel to appoint the next manager. They hope to convince Wenger to leave Arsenal when his contract expires but it is very unlikely that Wenger will agree to such a move.