UK Edition
Arsene Wenger is on tour Down Under and absolutely loving life
It's fair to say Arsene Wenger deserved a holiday.
Following the most stressful, tumultuous and ultimately unsuccessful season in his 21-year reign at Arsenal, the Frenchman is finally able smile again.
A two-year contract extension has been followed up with deals for Sead Kolasinac and a club record £49m move for Alexandre Lacazette.
No wonder, then, that the 67-year-old looks like he has a new lease of life as Arsenal begin their pre-season tour of Australia.
The Arsenal manager posed for a photo in front of the team's Emirates team plane before taking off on their pre-season tour.
Despite his age, Wenger looked genuinely excited to be welcomed to Sydney by a man in a giant koala costume as Arsenal touched down in Australia.
Wenger was then presented with a honorary surfboard by a New South Wales's Minister for Trade and Tourism.
Arsenal will play two fixtures against local A-League sides, Sydney and Western Sydney Wanderers, before jetting off to China for the second leg of their tour.
Even the ongoing speculation around Alexis Sanchez's future has not been enough to sour Wenger's mood.
The Chilean is currently on holiday after being left out of Arsenal's pre-season squad, however Wenger denied Sanchez has told the club he wants to leave and confirmed the player will not be sold to a Premier League rival.
"Yes, that is a continuation of what I said at the end of the season. That's what we will do," Wenger said.
"He adds great value to the squad and I think as well he is a great lover of the club.
"Nobody knows today if Sanchez will be on his final year of his contract next season, because he can extend his contract with us at the start of the season or during the season."
Wenger also touched on Arsenal's ongoing interest in Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe, who has returned to pre-season training with the Ligue 1 club.
“He’s a player who when he gets up in the morning, he can choose where he wants to go. There’s not many with that kind of luck at 18 years of age," said Wenger.
“All of Europe has the red carpet rolled out for him. I believe nobody can say he is not interested in a player of that calibre because he’s got such a rare and immense quality at 18 years of age.