Arsène Wenger: “Real Madrid is a team at the end of its life cycle”

Arsène
Wenger (Duttlenheim, 1949) no longer watches football from the Highbury band. He is just one more fan of his Arsenal, the one he made invincible and whom he now watches from his position as director of football development at FIFA.

His functions, now far from discovering Cesc Fàbregas and Patrick Vieira, or awakening Thierry Henry, have led him to write the book 'The Philosophy of a Leader' (Corner, 2021), to summarize and put words to a life linked to the sport.

In a talk with Efe, Wenger reveals his opinion of current football, the disaster of the Super League, the Eurocup and Karim Benzema and the steps of his countryman, Zinedine Zidane.

The player-coach relationship has changed a lot, it is no longer possible for someone like you to go to a parking lot to see a player to see if his transfer is worth it.

At that time I was 32 years old and a friend from the local press was traveling with us. That can no longer happen. The evolution of football has led him to separate himself from the rest of the actors, from the fans, from everything. Before the players went to have a pint in the pub with the fans, now it is no longer possible. We have gone from club owners being amateurs to having international investors. Soccer is popular because it is unpredictable, but money, in the last 30 years, has been concentrated in few places and has made the game predictable. The best are in a few clubs. For example, in these semifinals of the Champions League, you have the four richest in the world. The financial system has put an end to the unpredictability of soccer. Next year they will be the same. The old football is not going to come back, unless we create talent around the world.

And is the financial 'fair play' the tool for this?

But they always find ways to get around it. The teams that now dominate created their power when financial 'fair play' did not exist.

The first chapter of his book is a speech against the Super League, when it had not yet been announced. There is a phrase that stands out: “In my time, effort made the difference, not money.”

The Super League is an American project led by Florentino Pérez, who is probably the president of the largest team in the world. But he ignored the principles of football: above are those who win it on the field. You cannot be by decree. That is why this project was not going to be accepted, because it forgets what great sport does. You play against the best because you have earned it. The Super League will happen one day and will be based on merit. But this was not sport, it was the sale of television rights.

He also mentions foreign businessmen as the first reason he changed football. Now a group of players, including Henry, Vieira and Bergkamp, ​​want to buy Arsenal. What do you think?

What defines being good at soccer is making good decisions. I have sacrificed many years of my life to build the Emirates and pay for it, while creating a team that would compete. Everything is paid for, the stadium, the training center, they just have to take care of it. Now it is his turn for the club to make good decisions.

Would you be part of that Arsenal if they ask you for advice?

If they ask me of course I would be willing to help. I'm not particularly obsessed with it, because I'm focused on my role at FIFA, but of course it would help.

He was at Arsenal for 22 years. Is there that loyalty in today's football?

This is a different world. As an example: Tuchel left Paris Saint Germain because he was no longer valid, Pochettino arrived, who was no longer valid for Tottenham, and began to win. Same with Tuchel at Chelsea. We live in the short term, where only immediate results are worth it. Everything is governed by fast emotions and money. And the rich are not patient. Everything is judged on the spot. Long-term projects don't exist anymore. Society cannot survive in the short term alone.

An example can be that of Zidane, criticized even after winning three Champions

It is the world we live in. Real Madrid has done incredible and so has their coach, but they are a team at the end of their life cycle. The players who raised him to glory are getting older and it is time to renew footballers who are very difficult to replace. Benzema, Modric, Ramos … are over 30 years old and even if you spend a lot of money to replace them, you don't know if those who come will give the same level.

What is it like for a Frenchman to see Benzema's level and know that he will not be in the Eurocup?

But it is that it does not depend on his football quality. It is due to a subject that I do not know. He deserves 100% to be in the Eurocup, believe me. He would play for any team in the world. It is due to an extra sport problem. He has played for more than ten years for Real Madrid as a starter. Not many can boast of that.

And do you see Zidane in the national team?

Yes, he has also said once that he would like to do it, so it is not difficult for me to imagine it. I hope he continues to be successful because what he has done for football is magnificent.

You were the third foreign coach in the Premier. Now Guardiola is at City, Arteta at Arsenal, Tuchel at Chelsea, Klopp at Liverpool, Solskjaer at United …

My success opened the door for many foreign coaches. Now there are fewer English coaches, it is more difficult to find them. They have to solve this problem and it may be that Brexit will change again.

For many years Arsenal was mortgaged by Emirates, but not anymore. What happens now?

Now I am just an amateur and it is difficult to analyze from here. In the last two or three seasons Arsenal have invested a lot of money and tried to get back at the highest level. They have good ingredients for it, because there are very good young players. But to be up there the most important thing is consistency. We were in the top four for 20 years in a row and we always found ourselves in the Champions League with Barcelona or Bayern in the same round. I wish we could get back to that level.

Will Arsenal trust Arteta in the long term?

The success of a team is linked to the stability they give to the technical area. But the decisions are made by the president and the board and it is up to them to make the right one.