Wenger admits he still loves Arsenal

Arsene Wenger

admitted that he feels a little sadness about departing

as he is still in love with the club he was part of for so many years.

Wenger managed Arsenal from 1996-2018, becoming an iconic role in the club while establishing himself as one of the greatest managers of English football.

The Frenchman hasn’t been involved with the Gunners since he left the club, as he became a FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, as he revealed that he still thinks it is difficult not to work for Arsenal.

"It's a bit of sadness,"

he told Sky Sports.

"It's the end of passion, not the end of a love because I still love Arsenal, still love the Premier League. It's the first league I watch, and even today, that has not changed. But you're not part of it anymore as closely as you were before, so it's very difficult."

He continued:

"Forty years basically in this job, never one year have I stopped, so of course, it is very tough because you miss the tension, the intensity, the great moments, even the bad moments you missed. That's why, of course, it was very tough.

"Physically, when you work 22 years in football at the same club, it's 100 years in normal life, so you miss that."

Wenger also talked about his rival Jose Mourinho, with the two clashing many times when Special One was having his Premier League tenure.

The ex-Arsenal manager discussed how he always looked forward to facing Mourinho’s

.

“Well, basically I would say it is always a big game, a game that decides the championship and, at the time, it was more Man United and Chelsea as well,"

he said.

"But, my rivalry was always with the clubs than with the person [manager], I never made any statements on a personal level.

“I had a lot of aggravations with Mourinho at the time because I felt that Chelsea were the first club that came in and spent money they didn’t earn."

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