Arsene Wenger admits timing of his summer departure was not strictly his ‘decision’

Arsene Wenger has admitted that the timing of his eventual departure from Arsenal’s helm in the summer was not strictly his ‘decision’, although he is determined to remain ‘focused’ on the tasks which lay ahead of him as his squad gear up for their Europa League semi-final first-leg showdown against Atletico Madrid at the Emirates on Thursday evening.

Wenger formally offered nothing more than muted answers to queries regarding how the groundbreaking revelation came to prominence, however as the dust was finally beginning to settle in the midst of the Gunners’ recruitment program to unearth his successor, the 68-year-old’s inconclusive response to the media – via a report published by Sky Sports – on Wednesday only aggravates the pressing matter further as the plot continues to thicken.

“The timing was not really my decision,” ‘Le Prof’ revealed. “For the rest, I have spoken about it already.”

Quizzed to whether it felt strange to announce his farewell, Wenger added: “At the moment no because I am doing my job, I keep my routine and I am focused on what I have to do.

“You will feel sorry for me when I don’t work. But, at the moment I work like ever.

“You are never sure you are doing the right thing but life is interesting because you have to deal with different situations.”

In 22 distinguished years, the renowned French tactician has shepherded Arsenal through rich spates of success and desolate spells of failure and will undoubtedly go down as possibly the club’s greatest manager, despite enduring over a decade without a Premier League title amongst other sought-after accolades.

Wenger’s certainly poised to pounce for pastures new at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, however it still remains unclear to whether he genuinely chose to walk himself, or if he was ultimately prodded towards the exit door at the Emirates by the north-Londoners’ hierarchy.