Arsene Wenger reveals he nearly quit Arsenal

Frenchman considered resigning before
agreeing two-year extension

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According to The Independent, Wenger told Telefoot: “Yes, I
hesitated to extend for personal reasons. I’ve been at Arsenal
for 20 years, and I’m wondering if I should continue to lead the
club. We went quite badly during the season.” 

After taking lots of flak during the summer, the
new season has started even worse for Arsenal and again there have
been calls for Wenger to resign. The 4-0 loss at Liverpool and
missing out on signing Thomas Lemar from Monaco have not helped his
cause. Lemar was lined up as a replacement for Alexis Sanchez who
is out of contract at the end of the season. 

Despite Lemar rejecting the Gunners, Wenger says
that the club will make a new bid for the 21-year-old winger. “We
bid €100 million [£92m] for Lemar but the player wanted to stay in
Monaco,” said Wenger. 

“We’ll come back in for him. When you let go of
a player [Alexis Sanchez] of that calibre, you have to have a
substitute, otherwise no one would understand that
choice.”

In the interview Wenger also hailed Paris
Saint-Germain’s new signing Kylian Mbappe saying he “can be the new
Pele”. Mbappe was a target for Arsenal, but his transfer fee was
too high.

“I wanted Mbappe too, but €180million [£165.7m]
is too much for us,” said Wenger. “But he is a guy that makes a
difference. Ninety per cent of the players depend on the team, but
he falls in the other 10 per cent. 

“There is no limit, he can be the new
Pele.”