"I Still Love Arsenal": Arsene Wenger Admits He Misses His Old Job

Arsene Wenger has admitted that he misses being a manager and that he still loves Arsenal.

Wenger holds the record for being the longest-serving manager in Arsenal's history, having held the reigns for 22 years until stepping down in 2018.

He is also the most successful manager the Gunners have ever had, after delivering three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups.

Arsenal was the fourth club that Wenger managed in his coaching career, which began in 1984 when he took charge of French side Nancy.

He then managed Monaco and Japan's Nagoya Grampus before beginning his Arsenal love affair in 1996.

Twenty-six years on, that love is still alive.

Speaking to Sky Sports recently, Wenger said: "It's a bit of sadness. It's the end of passion, not the end of a love because I still love Arsenal, still love the Premier League. 

"It's the first league I watch, and even today, that has not changed. But you're not part of it anymore as closely as you were before, so it's very difficult."

Arsene Wenger pictured during his final game as Arsenal manager in May 2018

IMAGO/PRiME Media Images/Thomas Gadd

On missing management in general, Wenger added: "40 years basically in this job, never one year have I stopped, so of course, it is very tough because you miss the tension, the intensity, the great moments, even the bad moments you missed. That's why, of course, it was very tough.

"Physically, when you work 22 years in football at the same club, it's 100 years in normal life, so you miss that."

Wenger is currently working as the chief of global football development at FIFA.

He will celebrate his 73rd birthday in October.