China

Arsene Wenger not consider taking up coaching job in China

Despite the ongoing speculation surrounding his future as Arsenal missed out on a Champions League spot last year by finishing fifth, Arsene Wenger says he would not consider taking up a coaching job in China.

The Frenchman was speaking at a press conference in Shanghai ahead of his team’s International Champions Cup (ICC) match against Bayern Munich at Shanghai Stadium on Thursday.

“It’s not because I don’t like China, but because I am always happy with where I work — Europe. I won’t consider since I’m already under contract,” Wenger said, as quoted by China.org.cn.

Moreover, the 67-year-old coach stated the reason why he was not interested in following the footsteps of many high-profile managers in the country’s top-tier league, including Fabio Cannavaro (Tianjin), Luiz Felipe Scolari (Guangdong Evergrande) and Fabio Capello (Jiangsu).

“I think Japanese football is working in a very structural way, learning from European clubs which China should follow. But it’s hard to comment as I’m not familiar with China’s younger football generation,” he added.

Arsenal are already halfway through their preseason tour and Wenger will have more opportunities to test the capabilities of his new signings Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac in two games in China this week, against Bayern Munich in Shanghai on Wednesday and Chelsea in Beijing on Saturday.