An emotional Arsene Wenger said he stands by the standard he set himself, when he became Arsenal manager 22 years ago, and he said he decided to step down because it is in the best interest of the club he loves.
The Frenchman spoke of his displeasure with the disunity among Arsenal supporters in recent seasons, and said it was not good for the image of a club he claimed was respected more outside England than they realise.
Wenger said: “I’m not resentful and I do not want to make stupid headlines. I’m not resentful with the fans. I just feel if my personality is in the way of what I think our club is, for me that is more important than me.
"Every single decision I’ve made, in my 22 years, is for the good and the sake of Arsenal. Even when it was the wrong decision, my one priority was to do well for the club.
“I tried to influence the club on the structural side, on the development of the individual players, and, of course, the style of play and results.
“To combine the three is not always easy and I believe that I will leave a club that is in a very strong position on all fronts. My target was always to do that and I give an opportunity to the guy who comes in after me to do even better in the next 20 years. That’s my wish.”
Wenger was emphatic that he would not be involved in appointing his successor and said it was too soon for him to decide if he would remain in England or in football at all.
But he said that his appetite and energy remain undiminished.
'will never completely leave this club, because my first look will always be for the rest of Arsenal and how well the club develops. I will always be attached, but it’s difficult. You do not give 22 years of your life like that. I gave the best years of my life to this club'
"I arrived at 46 years old and I worked seven days a week — not six or six and a half. Seven, for 22 years!
"You cannot just walk away and say ‘thank you very much and bye bye’. It is absolutely normal. You cannot be on one side completely committed and, after, walk away like nothing happened. It’s impossible.
“I know I will face that challenge and that it will be difficult for me. But I had other difficulties in my life and I hope that I will get through this one, as well. I am not tired at all.”
The decision to go has ended the split among Arsenal supporters. A faction said he should have left long ago. Yesterday, the fans chanted his name in unison for the first time since the end of last season, when they won the FA Cup for a record 13th time.
Wenger said: “I’m happy when our fans are happy. I’m even ready to suffer to make them happy. If, sometimes, they make me happy as well, then I’m happy. I’ll take it. It’s a mixed feeling. First of all, I must say that I’m touched by all the praise I’ve got from all English football and I’m grateful for having that experience in this country.
"That, for me, is very special. The football is special, the passion is special, and you’ll find that nowhere else. I know that I will not get that anymore in my life.”
Wenger even likened reaction to the news as being like attending his own funeral and joked: “I had the feeling a little bit [like this was similar to] my funeral, because people speak about you and how you were, so it was little bit interesting, on that front.
“I don’t need to die anymore, because I know what it’s like! That is quite interesting, but I must say, apart from a little sense of humour, I would like to thank everybody who has been nice to me. It’s our job, because I certainly got more praise than I deserved and maybe, sometimes, more criticism than I deserved. It has been difficult, but also fantastic.”
