Wenger reveals shock Man Utd talks and why he couldn’t quit Arsenal

 

 

Arsene Wenger says he turned down “many clubs” throughout his career out of his love for Arsenal, including a potential Manchester United switch.

The Gunners will face United on Sunday in what will be Wenger’s final trip to Old Trafford as boss of the north London giants.

And ahead of the game the Frenchman has revealed that he once met with former United chairman Martin Edwards around the time Sir Alex Ferguson was poised to retire in 2002, but could not part with Arsenal due to his loyalty for the club.

“Arsenal is the love of my life. I turned many, many, many clubs down to face the challenge when we built the stadium,” said Wenger on Sky Sports.

“I speak to everybody, yes I met [former United chairman] Martin Edwards, many people came to see me but I was always loyal to this club.”

As for his thoughts on the United side of that era, he added: “When I look back now I realise what a great team they had.

“[Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes, as young players they had [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Wayne] Rooney and you see what Ronaldo and Rooney went on to do in the rest of their careers.

“[Ruud] van Nistelrooy, all these players together – it was an unbelievable team and I think I realise more with a bit of distance what a challenge it was.”

While Wenger will be well remembered at Old Trafford for the countless battles his Arsenal sides provided down the years, he is not too sure what sort of reception he will receive on his final appearance there on Sunday.

“I don’t know what reaction I will get but look we had some great battles in 22 years and for me what will be at stake is to recover from that result [against Atletico] and before we go to Atletico [to] have a good game.”

 

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