Arsene Wenger takes charge of Arsenal for the 1,000th time in the Premier League match against Chelsea on Saturday.
The 64-year-old Frenchman -- who was appointed as Gunners boss on
September 30, 1996 -- has spoken of his pride at reaching the landmark
and insists he still has the drive and hunger to bring success back to
the North London club.
Although the Gunners are approaching the completion of a ninth year
without any silverware, Wenger believes the stepping stones are now in
place for a return to the glory days.
“It is a big honour to stay such a long time in such a big club, and
[reaching 1,000 games], we cannot predict," he said. “We are in a job
where you go for the next game and try to do well in that next game.
Then step by step, sometimes you get to 1,000.
"Honestly, I am conscious I represent my club and that is much more
important than what is happening to me, so that game [against Chelsea]
will not be important because it is my 1,000th game, but it is what is
at stake for our season and for our club.
“I believe that when one day I look back at the first years, I will be
very proud of what I did -- the second period has been a more difficult
period, a trophyless period, but it has been much more difficult, much
more sensitive and we needed much more commitment and strengths than the
first part of my stay here.
“I went for a change that I knew would be difficult because we had to
fight with clubs who could survive losses of 150 million pounds a year,
and we had to make 30 million pounds [to finance the new stadium
payments] and on top of that we had people saying 'you have to beat
them' -- if I ask you tomorrow to race with Usain Bolt and win the race,
you will realise quickly it is difficult.
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