There’s still plenty of life left in that old zipper coat...
Arsene Wenger has been heavily linked with a return to coaching with Bayern Munich.
The Bavarian giants sacked Niko Kovac on Sunday after they lost 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt and are said to be keen on making a short-term appointment between now and the end of the season.
Would Wenger be interested in coaching Bayern if the opportunity came up?
“Of course. Coaching was my whole life until now,” Wenger said on beIN Sport in his current role as a pundit. “Everybody who has coached will tell you the same. You miss the intensity but some things you miss a lot, some things you don’t miss. I enjoyed the things I don’t miss too much... But on the other hand, football games, winning football games, preparing the team for the game, and getting satisfaction and shared emotions. That is something that you miss.”
Hermann Gerland and Hansi Flick have been placed in caretaker charge of Bayern for the time being, but it is clear they want to act fast to replace Kovac as they continue to lose ground in the Bundesliga title race.
Other contenders for the job include Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, who has confirmed he will not leave midseason. Ralf Rangnick has turned down the chance to talk with Bayern and Thomas Tuchel has said he isn’t interested.
Wenger is now 70 years old and it has been almost 18 months since he left Arsenal after 22 years in charge of the Gunners.
For a while it has seemed like Wenger would not return to management at all, with perhaps an international job his only option in the future as he also weighed up offers to become an influential figure at FIFA.
But this opportunity to coach Bayern would work well for everyone. The players are clearly talented enough to go far in the UEFA Champions League and challenge for the Bundesliga title. Wenger will be keen to take on a new project after resting and he could prove to those who doubted him at Arsenal that he can win trophies and his methods can still work.
Another plus for Bayern is that Wenger can speak German as he grew up in the French town of Strasbourg, Alsace, which is close to the German border.
It would be lovely to see Wenger back in the game at a massive club and this seems like exactly the opportunity he has been waiting for since leaving Arsenal.
This move makes sense for pretty much everyone, right?