Arsène Wenger has described Brexit as an example of knee-jerk British society, in which the heat of the moment is all consuming and the longer-term consequences an afterthought. The Arsenal manager made a call for perspective and substance to return to football and society but he fears that his is most likely a voice in the wind.
“Five hundred years ago the target for people was to be a saint,” Wenger said. “Fifty years ago it was to be a hero in war. Today it is to be a billionaire or, even more, a celebrity. It is instant and here now. But it has to be sustained by something. “In the modern game we have lost the perspective of what is important and what is not. It is always here and now, and it’s for ever. The now is permanent. The judgment is permanent and for ever. But it is in society, as well.
“You have the same example with Brexit. It’s just here now but where do we go from it? Nobody really knows. Maybe it is good; maybe it is bad. I don’t know. But nobody has explained what will happen in the future if we do it. Has Brexit been properly thought through? I don’t know. Is it good or bad? What I mean is these kind of decisions are made here and now.”
Wenger’s voice brimmed with frustration and it was not difficult to link his thoughts on society to the twists and turns of the soap opera that is Arsenal. The club enjoyed a high last Sunday when they won 5-2 at Everton but there was further evidence of the dissatisfaction among supporters and their yearning for change at a stormy AGM on Thursday when the chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, and the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, were heckled.
Wenger spoke passionately at the meeting about how he valued Arsenal’s identity; the club’s tradition and class; how the weight of the past had to guide the future. But he wondered afterwards whether anybody cared about that any more. Wenger lives in a world where “the weight of the present is the only thing that really matters” and every loss sparks soul-searching and negativity. He will be back on the treadmill at 3pm on Saturday when Swansea City visit the Emirates Stadium and defeat, of course, is unthinkable. Yet, despite the pressures, Wenger remains resolute. The dissenters merely harden his determination.
“I was always hungry but I’m more hungry than ever because the demands are higher and because I didn’t win the Premier League for a long time and I want to do that before you get me out of here,” Wenger said. “I have always got something to prove. If I play 4 v 4 with you now, you will see that I will try to win. We can play 1 v 1 if you want.
“There are two ways to go – you ignore your age and you live like you live for ever or you think: ‘OK.’ I am born for competition. I don’t know why and what happened to me but it is like that. No matter what I do.
“The desire to compete is my real need. It has never been financial. If it was financial, I would not be here.”
Source: Guardian
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