Arsenal

Nigel Winterburn: "Arsene Wenger still wants to manage"

By Matthew Jones, Reporter | 21 April 2018

Nigel Winterburn is certain that Arsene Wenger will be in high demand this summer, after the Frenchman announced his plans to leave Arsenal at the end of the season.

Former Arsenal left-back Nigel Winterburn has said that he is expecting multiple offers to come in for departing Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Winterburn won the league title with Arsenal under Wenger in 1998, making 440 appearances for the North London club.

Wenger announced on Friday that he would be stepping down as manager at the end of the season, but Winterburn is expecting high demand for the 68-year-old this summer.

"I haven't spoken to him for the last couple of months," Winterburn told Sky Sports News.

"But, when I last spoke to him, and whenever you address Arsene Wenger, it is football, it is in his blood. He absolutely loves it, he loves Arsenal. I think it will hurt him a little bit to walk away from this football club, but, if you ask me 'is he going to stay on as a director of Arsenal?' No, I don't think so. I think Arsene Wenger still wants to manage and I think those offers will come flooding in at the end of the season. I think there will be some big, big teams in there, looking to see whether Arsene can be tempted to join them.

"What I am looking at is the manager, when he comes into Arsenal football club, what is he going to do for our football club? How is he going to drive it forward? Is that going to be an experienced manager, or are Arsenal going to take a chance, as maybe they did with Arsene Wenger all those years ago? I think it is an intriguing decision [to appoint Wenger's successor] and one I am looking forward to the board making with real excitement."

Wenger's Arsenal are currently sixth in the Premier League table, 14 points off Champions League qualification.