Arsene Wenger says he would prefer to stay and focus on Arsenal rather than eyeing the vacant Barcelona job this summer.
Wenger,
in the final year of his contract at Arsenal, has been linked with
succeeding Luis Enrique at the Nou Camp after the Spaniard announced his
end-of-season exit in a
shock revelation on Wednesday.
Arsenal's
failings this season have led to some calls for Wenger to move on — but
he says his 'preference has always been the same and will remain the
same'.
Wenger said: 'I'm not looking for jobs in
other clubs or jobs of other people. I just focus on me getting to the
next level and trying to improve.
'Competent
managers always try to improve and see what they can do better and
reinvent themselves — that's what I try to do, that's basically it.
'I've
been here for 20 years and many times had the opportunity to leave I
don't think I have to convince you that my preference has always been
Arsenal.
'But I'm objective and lucid
enough to take the right decision for myself and the club as well; the
club is free to make the decision that it wants.'
The Frenchman refused to comment further
on the news that he had rejected a mega pay-day offer from the Chinese
Super League in recent weeks — instead choosing to focus on the job at
hand at the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger is
preparing his team for a key Premier League trip to Liverpool on
Saturday, with Arsenal trying to recover from their recent big-game
difficulties.
The Gunners were beaten 3-1 at Chelsea
last month and followed that up with a 5-1 hammering at the hands of
Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Their
manager has called on his players to show a 'desire to fight' in a
battle against a Premier League top-four rival at Anfield.
'When
you have a bad result like that (in Munich) it plays on your mind,'
Wenger conceded. 'You just have to focus on the way we want to play and
the desire to win, to fight and to take the opportunity you have to show
your quality.
'After our recent history being negative it doesn't help but you have to be strong enough to deal with that.'
He added: 'They owe themselves a performance, these are quality players.'
Mesut
Ozil is a doubt for the trip to Anfield after missing training on
Wednesday with illness, although Wenger suggested the German playmaker
'should be okay' to play.
Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey, who have trained with their team-mates this week, have been passed fit to play.
(daily Mail Sports)
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