Former players and staff talk about Arsenal in France Football

Samir Nasri:

[Wenger] knows football so much, that it sometimes leads him to being too timid on the transfer market. He wants to be certain that he does not make a mistake.

If you sit down with him and talk football, he knows what the weak spots in his team are, but its the aforementioned timidity that could explain why today, Arsenal are unable to compete with [Man City] or Chelsea.

When you look at Arsenal's playstyle, it has undoubtedly help me progress. When you look at the tactics, the training sessions; you arrive with square feet and you leave knowing how to play true football. The training sessions are magnificent.

When I left Marseille, I had a lot of offers. But simply just meeting Wenger, speaking about football with him, as he's a true football fanatic, I mean a real real football freak, I told myself 'Man, this is where you have to play'.

Jean-Marc Butterlin:

I know Arsene, when he spends one cent from Arsenal, it's as if he was forcing out of his own bank account, he wants to save as if he was putting money in his own bank account.

Arsene has always had a fascination for Arsenal, and by always I mean 7-8 years before he actually was appointed as manager. [...] His house was full of Arsenal-related stuff and he was truthfully attached to the club through his connection with David Dein, but mostly his incredible love for English Football.

Without a doubt, anyone that isn't Wenger, would of have accepted the offer [from Real Madrid] for their own personal image and to win more titles. He could of have coached Real Madrid twice, Paris St-Germain, that if Wenger said yes, Laurent Blanc wouldn't be managing them right now.

William Gallas:

We play every three days, and to do so you need a full squad, and to have it, you need to have a world class medical staff. [Is this the case at Arsenal?] I wouldn't say it isn't the case, they have a physical preperator who is world class, they have world class medical staff, but I would like to believe that they need a better connection in between those two.

My time at Arsenal brought me great pleasure. When I had someone putting pressure on me, I had a lot of options in terms of passing the ball and starting off the attack, something crucial. This was extremely important in showing that our young players [referencing to the era of Nasri, Fabregas, Van Persie; the whole youth policy basically] weren't afraid of playing the game.

Damien Comolli:

[Wenger] sees things that nobody else sees; he knows exactly where he wants to bring the player, and he transmits this vision to them. Hence, the player always has confidence in him, because when he says "In three months you'll be doing this, in six months you'll be doing this etc etc and in two years you'll be here", the player is so mesmerized that he adheres to what Wenger says.