Posted by Arsene Wenger has been considered a figurehead of the Premier League for over 700 hundred games– over 400 of which he left the stadium victorious.
As Wenger nears the end of his time, rumors speculate that his retirement will come after his 20th year at Arsenal, he’s got some insights and foreboding into the state of the Beautiful Game.
“In 30 years of my coaching career, I never got one of my players injected to be more efficient. I never gave them a product that can improve performance.”
“It is about pride. I’ve played against a lot of teams that were not in this state of mind.”
“I try to be faithful to the values that I find important in life and to transmit them to others.”
Wenger views the sports world’s increasing focus on results, and not the method used to achieve those results as a major issue of moralistic integrity within the sports world.
“Today, we will glorify he who runs 10.1 seconds and not the one who runs in 10.2 seconds. But they all run very fast anyway.
“This is very dangerous in sport. It is happening in an era where we glorify whoever wins; whatever the method and means.”
Wenger has always prided himself on coaching teams that “play the right way” with deft passing and the utmost in sportsmanship. He’s never been one to sacrifice his own vision for the way the game should be played in order to cater to fans or demands.
His opinion is one that more organizations, managers, coaches, and especially players should adopt as the backbone of their policy.
Or else professional football moves on at its own risk into perilous territory.
