Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has suggested that he would prefer to stay at the club and admits he may continue for another four years in management.
The Frenchman’s current contract with the Gunners expires at the end of the season, and he has once again come under growing criticism from some supporters for the club’s failures this year.
The 5-1 mauling by Bayern Munich in the Champions League was the latest ‘final nail in the coffin’, but the 67-year-old hinted in his press conference on Friday that he would possibly continue at Arsenal and isn’t considering retiring from the game just yet.
It’s widely acknowledged that the club have put a new two-year deal on the table for the veteran tactician, and it will be up to Wenger to decide whether or not he signs that contract or finally decides to walk away from the north London outfit after 20 years.
However, he has reiterated that he has no immediate plans to step away from football, and added that it will always be his preference to be manager of Arsenal, a club he evidently dearly loves.
“If you have a team maybe you can employ me,” he is quoted as saying by The Telegraph. “That’s not a threat, my preference is always to manage Arsenal. I think I have shown that. But I am adult enough to analyse the situation.
“[Sir Alex] Ferguson has some other interests in life. He was older than what I am today, he was four years older and retired at 71. I’m 67. Maybe [I’ll manage for] more, or maybe less. I don’t know, everyone is different.
“I do not want to take anything away from Ferguson, he was an unbelievable manager but had enough. I’m not at that stage.”
Wenger’s more immediate focus will be on Sutton in the FA Cup on Monday night, while also protecting the club’s position in the top four and continuing to apply pressure on league leaders Chelsea until the final game of the season before making an announcement on his future.