Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has cooled talk that Arsene Wenger could be the next England manager, saying that such a move would be extremely unlikely.
England are looking for a new boss after Roy Hodgson stepped down following their Euro 2016 exit to Iceland, and Wenger is a name that has been touted for the role. However, Henry cannot see his former boss giving club management a break and insists the Frenchman will remain at Arsenal for the foreseeable future.
“What I love about Arsene is he loves being on the field on a daily basis and if you’re a coach of a national team you’re not out there on a daily basis,” Henry told Sky Sports.
“That’s why I don’t see that happening, but who knows? Arsene loves Arsenal and he’s been there for a very long time. We don’t see him leaving the club and we know the England role can be seen as the impossible job.”
Henry also believes that England can look to the example offered by Wales when picking their next manager, after the Welsh team stunned the footballing world by making the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
“I don’t know what the philosophy is going to be but you need to have one and go forward with it. There shouldn’t be any problem with an English manager. Look at Chris Coleman. If Wales can do it, England should be able to find someone who can provide them with a competitive team.”
The former striker also complained about the fitness of Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, and suggested that many young players are now at a much bigger financial advantage and therefore lack as much desire to succeed for their country.
“Jack Wilshere maybe wasn’t fit enough – he was growing into the tournament – and Wayne Rooney didn’t have a good enough game, but to be fair, the team didn’t have a good game. There was a lack of ideas. But is there something wrong with the character of the players? There’s more money in England but at the start of the tournament, everyone was excited about the team and the young talent.”
“It is true that a lot of today’s players have more than what players used to have, but there is more money in the game. At Arsenal the kids don’t clean the boots and some of them are getting paid more than I was when I was a world champion. I also remember when you used to have to win the league, play well in the Champions League and perform for a couple of years before you won an international cap. We used to have kit that the pros didn’t want anymore, now some U18s have the same car as players in the first team – but the world has moved on and it’s difficult to compare times.”
[All quotes via Sky Sports]