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Arsene Wenger insists he will return to football

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted he may have managed his last match after leaving the club last summer.

The legendary French manager has been out of work since ending his 22-year association with the North London club.

Despite reports linking him with a possible return to the dugout elsewhere, the 69-year-old Wenger has revealed he is unsure about taking up another role in management.

"I thought I will come back into management very quickly, but I enjoyed taking a little distance,” Wenger said in an interview with the BBC. "Now I'm at a crossroads."

Arsene Wenger has admitted he may not return to football management (Credit: Getty Images)
Arsene Wenger has admitted he may not return to football management (Credit: Getty Images)

Wenger, who won three league titles and seven FA Cups with the Gunners, admitted he is still considering a return to football, but in a different role.

"You will see me again in football. As a manager... I don't know.

"In this year I did a lot of charity work, conferences - and I enjoyed it, I must say, to be a little bit less in highlights and less under stress.

"I'm less intense, but I have a better perspective of what's going on. I see the mistakes managers make and I don't pay the price for it.”

The Frenchman joined Arsenal from Japanese side Nagoya Grampus Eight in 1996 and led the club to the league and FA Cup double just two years later.

After winning a second double in 2002, he also achieved the incredible feat of managing the team to an unbeaten league campaign as they won the Premier League in 2004.

Wenger spent 22 years as Arsenal manager (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)        (Photo credit should read FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)
Wenger spent 22 years as Arsenal manager (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)

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The club’s longest serving manager helped oversee the club’s move from their Highbury home of 93 years to the Emirates Stadium in 2006.

"I came to the conclusion I want to share what I learned in my life, because I think life is only useful if, at some stage, you share what you know,” he added.

"In what way will it be? Will it be in just winning football games, or will it be in another way? That's what I have to decide and that decision will come very quickly.

"Football is still my passion. I will come back soon - but I cannot tell you exactly in what capacity."

With his former club set to face rivals Chelsea in the Europa League final next week, Wenger has hit out at the various problems surrounding the match in Baku.

"It's a little bit of a nightmare," he said of the difficulties fans face getting to the venue.

"The teams have no problem. They live in ideal conditions - they have their private jet, nice business seats. But it's the fans.”

Wenger was also critical of the fact the Gunners’ Armenian star Henrikh Mkhitaryan is set to miss the game due to safety concerns in Azerbaijan.

"That is something that should not happen in football.

"I feel it's not normal that in 2019 - inside Europe, with very sophisticated democracies - that you cannot play for political reasons."

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