Arsene Wenger offered a particularly warm welcome to the visiting French contingent who found their way to Arsenal's Hertfordshire training ground on the eve of tonight's Champions League rendezvous. He was all handshakes and convivial small talk about the south of France and after some reminiscing he wished them a good evening out in London. "I would like to give you some tips but I can't," he said, an admission of how he still isn't any sort of man about town after all these years.
The vignette offered a reminder of how absorbed he has always been about management. During his 18 years living in London it has become a running joke that he knows his way between only three places – his home, the training ground and the stadium. That kind of focus was evident as he tried to reject the romantic idea that Arsenal versus Monaco is the match of his footballing life. “Not at all,” he shrugged, as if a last-16 tie could not possibly be a particular high point in his career. “Our job is all about tomorrow and the future.”
However, it is the match of his life in a broader context because it brings together the two most important clubs of his career, clubs that shaped him.
The relationship between Wenger and Monaco was strong enough to withstand the fact they sacked him in 1994, a few months after reaching the Champions League semi-final. “I survived,” he says now. “I have no regrets because that’s how I am and that’s how I will be as long as I’m alive.”
Advice and opinions
He has spent time with various Monaco representatives in recent seasons. As the longest-serving manager in the club’s history, he has always remained open to offering advice and opinions.
Vadim Vasilyev
, the adviser to Monaco’s Russian owner
Dmitry Rybolovlev
, visited the French man in London on a few occasions. “They came to see me to ask me what I thought of the club,” Wenger said.
It is not just the club Wenger knows well. The team, and their particular characteristics, present a challenge that means he will not take this tie any less seriously than the string of favourites Arsenal have faltered against in recent seasons (Bayern Munich twice, Milan and Barcelona).
Wenger has calculated that conceding an early goal in the home legs has been a repetitive syndrome recently so Arsenal may well begin cautiously. But he senses a different atmosphere around the club this time. Arsenal are in strong form, having won nine games on the trot at home, and are not suffering from too many injuries (whereas Monaco are missing some key players).
“I believe we are in a better shape. I am convinced of that. We feel as a team that we are on the way up and we can use the Champions League to confirm that. I look around Europe today and there are 10 teams who believe they can win it.”
Wenger desperately wants to negotiate this last-16 hurdle after a succession of disappointments at this stage. A good night on the town for his Monegasque friends, followed by a chastening one at the Emirates, would suit him just fine. Guardian Service
