Football to him is not merely a profession, most certainly not a hobby, it is framed much closer to an obsession. For the tall Frenchman, it has been a foe who can bring with it sleepless nights, the occasional gift of unbridled joy but consistently a entity against which he battles to improve himself, his players and in much more than a philosophical sense, the game itself. Nonetheless, this book gives a great insight into the various transfers and dealings. I loved the story of David Dein's daughter crying silently into her dinner when she realised her favourite Ian Wright was being sold. I did the same when I heard the news. Banished was the players’ diet of fizzy drinks and chocolate, introduced were caffeine drops on sugar cubes at half time, physical and mental preparation was revolutionized, relative to what was then the norm. Facilitating the improvement of human performance through tailored man-management is a constant ambition. Wenger has not returned to the sidelines since leaving Arsenal, but as of November he has brought characteristic rigour to his role as Fifa’s head of Global Football Development. He separated from his wife, Annie Brosterhous, in 2015; their daughter Léa is finishing a doctorate in neuroscience at Cambridge University. He divides his time between London, Paris and Fifa’s base in Zurich, often staying in hotels, and he admits that the hardest part of Covid-19 for him was when most of the leagues around the world were suspended. “I don’t know why but football games are my life and I don’t think that’s ever going to change,” he says. “So I missed it very much.” In 2002/03, the season in which Arsène Wenger announced to the press that Arsenal could go the whole season unbeaten, his team fell short. They won the FA Cup, but gave up an early lead in the title race to Manchester United, eventually losing by five points.

Plusom boli určite vyjadrenia bývalých hráčov, trénerov a iných funkcionárov z Premier League ako aj samotného Wengera k rôznym situáciám. Arsene Wenger – My Life In Red And White review : Reviewed: Arsene Wenger – My Life In Red And White In My Life in Red and White, Wenger charts his extraordinary career, including his rise in France and Japan where he managed Nancy, Monaco and Nagoya Grampus Eight (clubs that also play in red-and-white, like Arsenal!) to his 22 years at the helm of an internationally renowned club from 1996 onwards. He describes the unrest that led to his resignation in 2018, and his current role as Chief of Global Football Development for FIFA. Gutted - I really wanted this book to be good but to be honest you don’t get anything you couldn’t have learned reading a few post match interviews, and really they would contain more detail. Wenger has managed some great players and had some fierce rivalries, but I don't feel like there was any REAL insight aside from what you'd find in a Wiki article. And anything where there was an interesting story behind it was told somewhat dryly with none of that Wenger wit.I found myself invited to David Dein’s house that evening. He had said to me: ‘We’ll talk about football.’ I mainly recall a very sociable evening with a lot of laughter and games, a kind of charades. I seem to recall one of the subjects they asked me to enact was A Midsummer Night’s Dream – no easy task – and I got through it pretty well!” He says. “The friendship, complicity and understanding between David and me date from that first dinner, and from all the times we’ve seen each other since.”

It covers the years of controversy that led up to his resignation in 2018 and his current seat as chief of global football development for Fifa. What were you feeling when you watched Manu Petit score a goal in the 1998 World Cup final [to confirm France’s 3-0 victory against Brazil]?Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox