• French manager reveals he listens to reggae superstar on his way to training
• ‘He was not fabricated. I love people who do not have conventional paths’
With the injury list piling up and Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage hanging by a thread, it has not been a happy few weeks for Arsène Wenger. But the Frenchman has revealed an unlikely source of inspiration on his daily drive to Arsenal’s training ground in Hertfordshire: Bob Marley.
According to an interview with Le Parisien on Friday, Wenger is a lifelong fan of the Jamaican reggae superstar and regularly listens to his songs in his spare time.
“Yes, I love his music and the man that he was,” said Wenger. “He was not ‘fabricated’. He was real. I love people who do not have conventional paths and who stand out because of their talent. Raymond Devos and Pierre Desproges are also some of my favourite comedians.”
Having lifted the lid on some of his philosophies in another interview last month, the latest instalment gives more of an insight into Wenger’s life away from football, including his tendency not to reveal his sense of humour in public situations.
“It is true, it is an aspect of my personality that people do not know about,” he said. “With my job, I am often stressed, so I might appear a bit like a constipated person. But I like to laugh when I am with my friends and to let my humorous side reign free, something that I obviously cannot do in front of the media.
“You know that you can quickly cause irreparable damage when you have my job. I am more interested in controlling that.”
Wenger was also asked whether he may consider managing another club in the future, having spent nearly 20 years in north London. “It seems to me that it would be difficult, I am 66. I still have a year and a half left on my contract, I will see what happens after. One small step after the other, it is more like that, the way I operate at the moment.”