Where next for Arsene Wenger after Arsenal?

Troopz and DT will be delighted; Arsene Wenger has finally announced he will leave Arsenal at the end of the season after 22 years in charge.

After constant fan pressure and a couple of disappointing seasons, missing out on Champions League football, the 68-year-old Frenchman has decided to call it a day at the Emirates.

“After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season,” he said on Friday, ending years of speculation about his position.

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He continued: “I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years. I managed the club with full commitment and integrity.

“I want to thank the staff, the players, the directors and the fans who make this club so special. I urge our fans to stand behind the team to finish on a high. To all the Arsenal lovers, take care of the values of the club. My love and support for ever.”

But what does the man – who won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups and changed the face of English football forever – do next? Here are three possible next steps…

Haunt the corridors at Arsenal/move upstairs

When someone has such a long affiliation with a club it’s only natural that people would assume he’d want to stick around. Wenger has spent a third of his life at Arsenal so anything else at this stage would just feel weird.

The club have already said numerous times that a role for life upstairs would be available to the 68-year-old Frenchman if he wanted it. And he could still work on ensuring the values that he installed at the club continue to thrive without the pressure of being in the dugout.

However, there is always the risk that the next few managers remain in his shadow (which they probably will anyway). You just know if things don’t go right on the pitch the cameras will be right on Wenger in the directors box, zooming in on his every reaction.

Maybe he can take a leaf out of former foe Alex Ferguson’s book; turn up now and then to try and deflect attention away from the past. That and always buy the most expensive bottle of wine available.

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Manage another club

Despite the last few seasons at Arsenal, the offers from other clubs are likely to flood in for Wenger. Many will see the transformation he undertook at the Gunners in his first decade and want that for themselves.

The likes of PSG, Monaco and Everton have already been linked with Wenger, while Chelsea will be without a manager next season too *hint hint*.

Then there is international football and Wenger hinted in November he could be interested in going down that route. “Maybe,” he said. “I will do it at some stage but now I like to be involved in the life of a club.”

Bookies have already made him short odds to manage the France national side and England as well as potentially moving to the MLS in America or China. He may be 68 but there could be life in the old dog yet.

Become a pundit/analyst

In the last few years Wenger has stepped up his media work, doing some punditry on French TV during the last World Cup.

Surely the likes of Sky Sports and BT will be clamouring over each other to get his expert insight next season, especially for Arsenal games, although one suspects he would be wary of what sort of headlines that would produce.

He has also done consultancy work and talks for the likes of FIFA and surely there will be all sorts of organisations who would want his expertise in the next few years. The offers will not be shortcoming.