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Ix Techau Evil Mastermind 14,278 pts

Martin Keown interviews Arsene Wenger for BBC Football Focus

Posted by Ix Techau about 9 years ago · 1 replies

On coming through a "sensitive period":

What people forget is you have to build a new stadium. Now we can compete for the best players and that was not the case five years ago.

On saying no to other opportunities in the mid-2000s:

I went with the club for the challenge of building a new stadium without dropping out of the Champions League and we made it every year. I feel that I have done my job in a very committed and faithful way. In 20 years it will be acknowledged that was a very sensitive period for the club. Today the club is in a strong position.

On not winning for a long time:

You want to win everything. We were not that far away but we were facing opposition with much more resources. We had to deal with it.

On his favourite FA Cup trophy:

Maybe the first one against Newcastle in 1998 when we won the double. When I was a kid I watched the cup final. So to come from a village in France and go on to win that was something special. It was the old stadium but the soul there was special.

On relationship with Alex Ferguson:

I'm happy to see him now much more than before because we have gone through difficult spells. In the end it became more peaceful. He was not always objective in his defending his team and neither was I. Now we can have a nice dinner or a glass of wine.

On the changes to Arsenal after 2004:

The availability of the players changed. We produced players like Cesc Fabregas, who is less physical than Patrick Vieira, but who are still exceptional players. For a while maybe we became slowly a little bit less athletic and less physical. But the players we have today, believe me, are very physical.

On losing to Monaco:

I question myself after every game. It was just a shock as we were super favourites. I believe we wanted too much to make the difference in the first game and forgot the basics. We lost vision and panicked a little bit.

On his future at Arsenal:

We don't know, that's why life is interesting. I will continue as always to give my best to the job I do and for this club. [I want to leave the club] in a strong healthy position which means a club with good players, with good youth behind and strong financial position to go further up and develop even more and I will do that, you can believe me. The guy who comes in after me will be in a very strong position to deliver something exceptional.

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