Classic Desert Island Discs - Arsène Wenger

11:10Arsène Wenger:well I don't know my parents they wanted me to do well you know I was the big freedom because my parents were very busy so at school I didn't work at the start and suddenly I realized I was not too stupid and I caught all back what I didn't do at the start and became quite a good student what was the turning point what made you decide to do that I think to be conscious that I go nowhere like that and I refused to be mediocre. I don't know exactly why but always at some stage I thought I have to take control of my life there. So they were quite happy, my parents, but subconsciously, secretly, I always thought if I could spend my life in football that would be a relief for me because I love to understand how the world works but I don't want to spend my life in it.

12:03Arsène Wenger:You know, football, when you're a manager, you speak to three people. In every player is the child. The child wants to play. He's completely in the prison. The teenager, for him, it's all black and white. Are you stupid? Are you a genius? And the adult is a guy who lives with the internal suffering, but has to find a compromise with the external world, you know, and if he's capable of that he can find a balanced life but when you're manager you speak a lot to the child and the child is playing and I tried not to forget that when I was a manager because to be creative you have to enjoy things if you want to do something you're much more creative and part of our job despite all the pressure that is around us is always to speak to the child and I was a child who wanted to play yeah you were a street player completely street player because I had no coach until the age of 19.

13:00Arsène Wenger:It was impossible for me to think I would spend my life in football. I respected every coach I had later.

13:07Laurene Laverne:And what skills do you learn as a street player? What does it teach you?

13:11Arsène Wenger:Individual initiative, courage as well, because my brother was five years older. I wanted to play with my brother, but my brother played with people of his age. And when you're five years younger, you have to be brave to play. And I could convince my brother that if he takes me in his team, I can help him to win. So that is a very good education. And in the street, you have to be shrewd.

13:34Laurene Laverne:So tell me then about the teenage you. You said teenagers see things in black and white. So you were a member of the Doola-Nine football team. What did playing give you?

13:43Arsène Wenger:The sense that when you're a teenager, you want as well to be loved by others. And because I was good, everybody wanted me to play and were happy to be my friends. And I feel I belong to the community and the people encouraged me always. You know, it was enjoyment because this was 65, 66. It was a positive part after war because there were no job problems, no crisis, no COVID. Everybody had a good future. So it was optimism. It was dancing and playing and drinking. And that's what life was about.

14:24Laurene Laverne:You said that you were very motivated to win. You wanted to make the village proud. How did you cope when you didn't win? Were you a good loser?

14:32Arsène Wenger:I was a very bad loser. And honestly, I'm still today. Having said that, in our job, if you're a good loser, you don't go far. But I suffered a lot physically from hating the defeat, you know. And every defeat, every big defeat is a scar in my heart. And sometimes I thought I would not survive in this job because I suffered really physically from defeat.

14:57Laurene Laverne:How did it manifest?

14:59Arsène Wenger:I adapted because I started at 33 years of age. I was at the top level. So maybe if you start at a very young age, you adapt and your body adjusts to it.

15:10Laurene Laverne:It's time for some more music, Arsene. Tell us about your next choice today.

15:13Arsène Wenger:My next song is Léo Ferre. It's a French poet, singer from the 60s. And the song is Avec le temps. That means with time. What I like is the poet that is in this song, but what I don't share, it says basically time is a healer, but time is a healer as well of love and that you finish alone in your bed and you don't love anymore. I don't believe that, but the song is great.

15:52Arsène Wenger:The face, and we forget the voice, the heart. When it's not going to go, it's not the right way to go. It's a bit further, you have to let it do, and it's very good.

16:13Arsène Wenger:With the time,

16:17Arsène Wenger:with the time, everything goes.

16:21Laurene Laverne:Léo Ferret and Avec le temps. Arsène Wenger, everything changed for you after a bad defeat to a team that was much better than yours. Now, despite being on the losing side, their manager, Max Hild, singled you out for praise rather than anyone on his team. What happened? Yes, I lost 7-1.

16:42Arsène Wenger:And it just shows you how weird life can be sometimes, you know, because I lost 7-1. and, of course, against a team that was a dominant team, a League One team, you know. And he, in the dressing room, said, I've seen a great player today. And one of my friends stood up and said, thank you very much. He said to him, no, stop it, it's not you. He's played on the other side. And so I got out of my village through him. And he was my mentor because he took me after with him and took care of me.

17:16Laurene Laverne:So this was 1969, then you joined AS Mutzig, the team that Max Hild coached, and that was when your career really took off. It was a big step up for you. How easily did you rise to the challenge?

17:28Arsène Wenger:Well, it was unexpected and the level was very high for me, but he straight away had confidence in me and it took me a while to adjust because I had never practiced before and I became a good player in his side.

17:41Laurene Laverne:While you were at Mutsig, you also went to the University of Strasbourg reading politics and economics. Why did you choose those subjects?

17:48Arsène Wenger:I went basically to university to understand the world I live in. I went one year to medicine. After I went to economics. After I went one year sociology. There was more curiosity than to use my exams, you know.

18:05Laurene Laverne:And how did you manage studying and training at the same time?

18:09Arsène Wenger:Well, I did not a lot go to university. The people who went there gave me their lectures, you know, and I worked outside the university.

18:17Laurene Laverne:So you did it off your own bat?

18:19Arsène Wenger:Yes, I was used to that.

18:21Laurene Laverne:You went from Utzy to Mulhouse, to Vauban, to RC Strasbourg, and you'd been fascinated by that club as a child. What were your feelings when you arrived there as a player?

18:30Arsène Wenger:Because it was an impossible dream to go to Strasbourg. At the time, for me, the professional football players were not born in the same world than I was and they were on another planet. It is funny because when I joined this club, I was over the moon and I couldn't even believe it.

18:47Laurene Laverne:What was football like when you were playing it? What did it feel like? How intense was it?

18:52Arsène Wenger:When you win, you're extremely happy. When you lose, you're extremely disappointed. And honestly, the game is no bigger revelator of the character of a person because when you go into a football game or do something that is important for you, you get rid of all your social skills and you become who you really are. And there you know if you can trust people or not, if you can rely on people or not. And that's why I think it's a fantastic experience.

19:24Laurene Laverne:And what did your parents and the people that you'd grown up with make of you becoming a professional footballer?

19:30Arsène Wenger:I think early on they were worried and after they were proud maybe when I was 25, 26 they thought okay he will have a good life and they were happy and I could help the family as well so I turned slowly the family over to football you know

19:50Laurene Laverne:You won them round

19:51Arsène Wenger:I won them round yes

19:52Laurene Laverne:It's time for some more music Arsene what are we going to hear?

19:56Arsène Wenger:Disc number four is Elton John I like the fact that Elton John was similar age to me and when I heard him at a young age I find it fantastic and as well because he likes football and as well because I meet him sometimes in the same restaurant in Nice and we speak a bit about English football and I think he deserves to be remembered. And you can tell everybody This is your song It may be quite simple but now that it's done I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind That I put down in the woods

20:44Laurene Laverne:How wonderful life is while you're in the woods

20:54Laurene Laverne:Elton John and your song. Any advice for Watford FC at the moment, Arsene Wenger?

21:01Arsène Wenger:Look, I was surprised that they went down last year because I think they had enough quality to stay in the league and they sacked the manager with two games to go and I was quite surprised at this decision. So I wish that they come back because it is a team who can be in the Premier League.

21:19Laurene Laverne:Well, let's get back to your coaching career that began while you were playing for Strasbourg. You were put in charge of the training centre and then became head of the youth team. You were only 30 at the time and coaching young men 18, 19 years old. The transition from playing to coaching can be very tricky. How did you find it?

21:39Arsène Wenger:Interesting and challenging, but I was so passionate, you know. I didn't count the hours. I worked on exercises. I worked morning, afternoon, evening. at the time I was scouting as well so sometimes I travelled three, four hours by car to watch a used team game and come back at night and in the morning on the training ground so it was a different time where it was more all down to your own initiative today it's all more structured at the time football was not rich so the quality of a club depended more on the individual initiative

22:14Laurene Laverne:And you had a very interesting approach at that time you brought in a psychiatrist to meet players individually every week. Why?

22:21Arsène Wenger:Because I felt that the mental aspect of a young player is very important and I thought I can help them to develop, you know, because once you're 18, 19, it's important to push yourself as far as you can and I wanted to understand better what is going on in the brain of a young boy who has a possibility to make a career. and what we did quite well, we forced them every day to analyze their day. I forced them every day to say, how did you feel today physically? How was your concentration? How do you feel tactically we did? How did you think you did? So even when I meet them today, sometimes they still tell me that helped them a lot in their life, to think about what they did and if they did well or not.

23:14Laurene Laverne:In 1984 you took up your first managerial post with the League One club Nancy and moved on to become the manager of Monaco in 1987, winning the league championship in your first season there. You were very hands-on, your eye for detail was meticulous. I've seen a diet sheet that was prepared for the players before and after the match and I know that you were fastidious about the pitch. You said the groundsmen must have been very pleased when you left.

23:39Arsène Wenger:Yes, because in Monaco we had a problem on that front, But to be successful there was quite important because it was at the start of my career. And I had an advantage. I knew exactly what I wanted. And I had the players who were capable to execute it. And then it makes a good chemistry and the results come.

24:01Laurene Laverne:So when it came to expressing yourself, what was your temperament like back then?

24:05Arsène Wenger:I was a very demanding advantage, you know. and sometimes not flexible enough. And young, quite confident, but I believe I had always a right mixture between confidence and humility, but very demanding on the players. And so sometimes they were fed up with me, but it worked.

24:28Laurene Laverne:You met Annie Brosterhaus while you were there and you'd go on to marry and have a daughter together. How difficult was it to have a job that was so all-consuming, so pressured and build a relationship alongside that?

24:41Arsène Wenger:That was my weakness. And I must say that I gave so much time to my job that it was very difficult. Today, sometimes I think I have been a monster, you know, because I gave so much and I didn't develop other skills. I had plenty of friends that I kept my whole life, but as well for my family, I say overall, I was not up to the level that you would expect from a guy like me.

25:11Laurene Laverne:Do you have time to make up for it these days?

25:14Arsène Wenger:Yes, I try.

25:15Laurene Laverne:It's time for some more music. Disc number five, what's it going to be and why have you chosen this?

25:20Arsène Wenger:I've chosen this because I have that in common with some people I cherish very much in France as well because, évidemment, it tells you a little bit that we still love each other but it's not exactly the same like before, you know. It shows that if you don't take care of love, it slowly vanishes.

25:45Laurene Laverne:Obviously, obviously, we still dance on the chords that we love so much.

25:59Laurene Laverne:Evidemment

26:04Arsène Wenger:Evidemment

26:07Laurene Laverne:On rie encore Pour des bêtises Comme des enfants Mais pas comme avant Frans Gal and Evidemment. Arsene Wenger, you moved to Japan to manage Nagoya Grandpas 8 before being headhunted by Arsenal in 1996. When you arrived, you were considered an unknown quantity by many, certainly in the press, and they quite rudely wrote about us and who. How did the fans and players receive you?

26:39Arsène Wenger:Well, I would say there was a scepticism around me, but you have to accept when you go abroad, you know, you don't expect the red carpet. It has changed now, but at the time, you're first to prove that you have the level to be there. And honestly, I said always to the players as well, look, you come from abroad, you come here. If it is to do what a local guy does, stay at home, you have to be conscious that you have to do more. And I was in that mode of thinking. And in fairness, I think the club was quite crazy to appoint a guy like me because it was one of the most traditional clubs in England.

27:14Arsène Wenger:And to take a completely unknown guy, I think they were crazy, these guys. But I had the advantage to benefit from it.

27:22Laurene Laverne:Yes and you brought in many innovations including persuading the team to give up their Mars bars for broccoli How did that go down?

27:31Arsène Wenger:Well it was players who were all 30 but they were intelligent and they thought if I could extend their career by doing what I told them maybe I would do it and they tried you know I remember going to the first game they chanted at the back of the coach we want our Mars bars and so at half time we were one hill up and nobody talked and it was like at the funeral and I said to Gary Lewin the physio what's wrong why does nobody say a word in here he said they're hungry

28:06Laurene Laverne:you know we take it for granted now that place have very strict healthy diets but it was

28:11Arsène Wenger:revolutionary at the time yes and that is now accepted all over the world you know I told them that you need a global approach. What is visible, that means on the training ground, and what is not visible is the way you prepare mentally, the way you prepare by sleeping well, eating well, and all that makes performance. A club is basically there to create an environment that favourises the performance of the players.

28:36Laurene Laverne:Before you got there, there was quite a well-established drinking culture at the club. When George Graham, the previous manager, was in charge, the Tuesday club there was very much seen as a bonding experience for the players with the manager. How did they react to your way of doing things?

28:51Arsène Wenger:It was not always easy, but they understood. And, you know, I was lucky as well because at the time, Tony Adams had just come out and said, look, I am an alcoholic and I went to rehab and I don't want to drink anymore. And I must give him absolute credit because still today he has never drunk any drop of alcohol. That is a remarkable strength of character. And I could convince the other players that if we want to give him a chance, we cannot drink in front of him, you know. So that helped me a lot. But when he didn't play, the pressure was still there to have a drink after the game, you know. So I didn't compromise.

29:31Arsène Wenger:I think when you come from outside as a foreign manager, you have to respect the local culture and know what you can compromise on and what you don't tolerate at all. And they smell very quickly that I was not ready to tolerate alcohol.

29:47Laurene Laverne:What would the sanction have been?

29:49Arsène Wenger:I could find or not play them. When you're a manager, when you pick the team, you have ultimate power. And one of the difficulties of a job is on every Friday before the Saturday game, we make jobless people over the weekend who feel useless, who hate you. And on Monday, you employ them again and you say to them, look, we do now like nothing happened and you give your best again. And that's the difficulty of our job.

30:17Laurene Laverne:You won the Premiership for the third time with a team that became known as the Invincibles. For 49 consecutive matches, they didn't lose. Why was it important to you to win the Premiership without losing a game?

30:28Arsène Wenger:Because I think it's difficult to measure the quality of a manager. so I thought the perfection of my job would be one year not to lose a game and I must say it was an exceptional experience to play 49 games is one and a half years you imagine one and a half years without losing a game so it was just enjoyment sometimes I thought why am I well paid to do this job it's so simple so enjoyable you know after when you lose your

30:58Laurene Laverne:first game exactly you know why you're well paid so that game 50 was the game 50 first of all we

31:05Arsène Wenger:lost the 50 but it was not deserved and sometimes i think as well i was born 49 and maybe that was

31:14Laurene Laverne:my destiny to lose the 50s game ah because it was the year of your birth yeah i could see that 50

31:20Arsène Wenger:still rankling though of course because it was against our rivals at the time and united it's

31:27Laurene Laverne:time for your next discuss and what are we going to hear and why have you chosen this one?

31:30Arsène Wenger:It's Elvis Presley because he was as well a star of my childhood but especially because it's the song where Arsenal walks out on the pitch, The Wonder of You. When no one else can understand me When everything I do is wrong You give me hope and consolation You give me strength to You carry on and you're always there to lend a hand in everything I do

32:08Laurene Laverne:It's the wonder, the wonder of you Elvis and The Wonder Review. That is Arsenal's walkout song, Arsene Wenger, so 1 ,235 times at least. you've heard that.

32:27Arsène Wenger:It's many games, many suffering, many sleepless nights and many happy days as well I must say.

32:33Laurene Laverne:So you've got to take that one to the island. Now Arsene the rivalry between competing managers is often obvious pitch side and you regularly clashed with Sir Alex Ferguson former Manchester United manager. Those exchanges can look pretty visceral to people watching. What was it like for you?

32:52Arsène Wenger:Well it was normal for me because it was him or me and overall you fight for your life when you go out there.

32:59Laurene Laverne:How would you describe your relationship these days?

33:02Arsène Wenger:At the time I was seen as the intruder there. Is he coming disturbing my superiority here in England you know and I was the guy who wanted to show him that we can beat them. With time passing on I think it became respectful and friendly but we went through some difficult times.

33:22Laurene Laverne:I believe you said he knows his wine better than you do.

33:25Arsène Wenger:He does. That was a big surprise. He has more knowledge about red wine than I have.

33:31Laurene Laverne:You did say that you were offered the job of Manchester United manager. Now, I'm assuming that was when Sir Alex indicated he'd retire in 2003.

33:39Arsène Wenger:I cannot tell you exactly when because I'm quite keen not to talk about it.

33:46Laurene Laverne:Can you tell me why you turned it down?

33:49Arsène Wenger:because my heart was at Arsenal and at the time David Dean who was my friend was still at the club I couldn't imagine me moving out of the club but anyway Arsenal was the love story of my life and since I stopped at Arsenal I didn't go anywhere I thought in England it would be Arsenal and nobody else

34:10Laurene Laverne:It also sounds like loyalty is a very important quality to you Yes

34:15Arsène Wenger:I come from Alsace you know with German influence when you sign nobody forces you to sign once you have signed you respect what you have signed and that was the way I was always doing

34:26Laurene Laverne:You had so many successes at Arsenal 17 trophies in all but one that eluded you was the Champions League the premier contest in Europe and you qualified for the tournament 19 years in a row reached the final once but were beaten by Barcelona 2006

34:43Arsène Wenger:how do you cope when a dream doesn't come true it's difficult but at the end of the day you are guided by dreams our whole life and some come through some don't come through and you have to accept that you never win everything you want to win and you have to live with what you didn't achieve the most important is to be faithful to what is important for you that means find the meaning in your life and walk on the road of your life with the values that look important to you. After that, you win, you lose. It's part of life.

35:21Laurene Laverne:Since you entered the game, it has changed considerably. The money paid to players has grown beyond the wildest dreams of the players of 30, 40 years ago. They get paid vastly more than their managers now. What's your view on that, I wonder?

35:34Arsène Wenger:Well, I'm not against the money because I did find my whole life that players get well paid so I'm happy for them. The players are not responsible for the money they get. It's a success of football that produces the money. The only thing I insisted always, life is about give and take and don't forget to give. If you get big money or small money, once you sign, give your best to your club.

36:01Laurene Laverne:In 2006, the club left its home of 93 years, Highbury, and relocated to the new much larger Emirates Stadium and the movement that you had to cope with financial constraints the club then didn't win another trophy for 11 years how did the move affect you well I guided the club through

36:21Arsène Wenger:this period that was sensitive but we still produced fantastic games and fantastic football we won the championship but as well we finished five times second when you finish second you're not nobody we were consistent what is the most difficult but we had not anymore the experience and maturity to win in the decisive moments of the season. That was until 2014 where we could buy again better players because the burden of debt was diminished then.

36:49Laurene Laverne:Yes, you paid off the debt that you accrued in creating the new stadium, but that is a substantial burden and a pressure to carry with you over that time.

36:58Arsène Wenger:I took that challenge because I thought it's another way for a manager, you know, you have an influence on the style of play, the trophies you win, and on the individual development of the players, but as well on the quality of the development of your club, on the brand, on the values that you carry through the world. And I am very proud that I achieved that part as well. And Arsenal became a renowned club all over the world because it gave its chance to young players and had a positive image.

37:27Laurene Laverne:And what about the change from the old stadium to the new one on the team?

37:32Arsène Wenger:First of all, it takes you a while to feel completely at home. You have to recreate a history. And we lost part of the soul of Highbury because Highbury was Highbury. And I think the difference between the two stadiums shows the evolution of the game. The distances between the supporters and the club and the team became bigger. And you see that physically at the Emirates because you had to respect the security rules. the other clubs had more money and we lost a little bit that feeling that we were at home there.

38:03Laurene Laverne:Yeah, was it hard to say goodbye?

38:05Arsène Wenger:It was very hard to say goodbye and I must tell you I drove a few times in front of Highbury just to see this listed stand again and to remember a little bit what had happened in there.

38:18Laurene Laverne:What was that like? I think they're apartments now.

38:21Arsène Wenger:It was nostalgia, you know, and good memories. very good memories

38:27Laurene Laverne:Let's have some more music, it's your seventh what are we going to hear?

38:31Arsène Wenger:Jacques Brel, who I love Ne Me Quitte Pas says don't leave me, you know, it shows they never know who is the most happy those who love or those who are loved and I think as well he was an extraordinary presence on stage and a great singer

38:48Laurene Laverne:Ne me quitte pas

38:52Arsène Wenger:Il faut oublier tout You can forget who is already gone Forget the time of the baddest And the time lost To know how to forget those hours That sometimes you are killed Why the heart of happiness

39:27Arsène Wenger:Love, huh?

39:28Laurene Laverne:Oh, yeah. Complete cri de coeur. Jacques Brel, nobody better. Arsene Wenger, you left Arsenal in 2018 after 22 years there and you'd last won the FA Cup in 2017, one of only three trophies since you moved to the Emirates Stadium. You've said that you wanted to see out your contract and you were clearly very sad to leave. How difficult was it to do so?

39:53Arsène Wenger:It was difficult because when you're 69 years of age, you don't imagine going somewhere else as a manager. I turned all the best clubs in the world down to go to the end of my contract, in the end of my mission with this club. So it was difficult because your car, who drove automatically to the training centre, has to stay at home and you with him. And to cut that link was very, very difficult. But on the other hand, I decided to change completely. And I'm very happy about that.

40:25Laurene Laverne:In 2015, you were quoted as saying, I always treated Arsenal as if it belonged to me. How do you feel about the club now? You've got a little bit of distance on it after leaving.

40:34Arsène Wenger:Yes, I still support Arsenal, you know. I still love this club. When I see the red and white walking out, I'm not the same man anymore. And I still say we when I talk about the club. But it's life. You do your best. and after other people come in. What you want is that they are faithful to the culture of the club and carry the values that you have built, that the club continues and continues its development as well.

41:01Laurene Laverne:How do you think they're going to do this season?

41:03Arsène Wenger:I think I have a feeling that we will do very well. And it looks to me that it will be a very open championship. I don't think there is at the moment any dominating team in the league and that we have as much potential than the other teams. So we might have a chance to do supremely well.

41:24Laurene Laverne:In this new chapter of yours, you're currently FIFA's head of global football development of both the women and the men's games. And of course, we're in the midst of a global pandemic right now. What do you think are the key challenges facing the sport at the moment?

41:37Arsène Wenger:The key challenges is the gap between Europe and the rest of the world. It's as simple as that. So I created teams who go into the 200 countries who have signed up for my program to detect exactly the needs and respond with FIFA to provide the needs they have to develop the game. On the women's front, it's not only to give them coaches and structure championships, but as well pitches, because in some counties they have no pitches to play, because the boys already play on Saturday, Sunday, and it's fully booked.

42:13Laurene Laverne:And what about the challenge of coronavirus, which is facing everyone?

42:16Arsène Wenger:The coronavirus is a big worry, because financially the smaller clubs suffer. The best players have been grouped in the best clubs and the richest clubs, and their local support has gone down. So the smaller clubs in England suffer a lot financially. You have 92 clubs in England. You take the 20 Premier League out, 72 clubs. Of these 72 professional clubs, 65 lose money. That cannot last forever, so we have to sit down and find a solution to help them to survive.

42:51Laurene Laverne:Your daughter Leah is studying for a PhD at Cambridge University at the moment. She's a scientist. Does she share your love of the beautiful game?

42:59Arsène Wenger:She loves sport, yes. Not football, but she's in track and field. She's competitive like I am. I wonder if she's not even more than I am.

43:09Laurene Laverne:I know that you've said neuroscience is football's next frontier. Why is that?

43:14Arsène Wenger:because we arrived to the end of a physical development of our players and we cannot go much further and maybe the speed of decision making and how quickly can you analyze the situation around us will be the next levels we can experience to develop so does this mean

43:32Laurene Laverne:i might be coming into the family business at some stage yes i hope so and recently you've been reflecting obviously we've been talking today looking back over your life and career you've written your autobiography i wonder how your definition of success has

43:49Arsène Wenger:changed if it's changed since your early years i would say success is finding the meaning of your life and be capable to to live it you know after that it's never enough but if happiness is to have a life you want to have. I can say I've been very happy until now because I had the life I wanted to have.

44:16Laurene Laverne:It's time for one more disc before we cast you away to the desert island, Arsene Wenger. What are we going to hear?

44:22Arsène Wenger:Frank Sinatra, My Way. It is a song that has been written in France. A Canadian singer heard somebody sing it. I think it was Claude Francois in France. He took that song and sang it in a private party where Frank Sinatra was. And Frank Sinatra said, oh, I like that song. And it became his song and it became a worldwide success. This kind of coincidence are sometimes linked with success. I did what I had to do. Saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course Each careful step along the byway And more, much more than this I did it my way

45:27Laurene Laverne:Frank Sinatra and My Way

45:31Arsène Wenger:Now that is important for this success in life is to do it my way.

45:35Laurene Laverne:You've certainly done that, Arsene Wenger. And it is time to cast you away to your desert island. I know that your fitness regime is still quite strict these days.

45:45Arsène Wenger:Yes.

45:45Laurene Laverne:Will you keep that up on the island?

45:47Arsène Wenger:Of course. You know, I am at an age, you do not try to improve anymore, but you try to be in the same shape as the day before. But you have to exercise for that.

45:58Laurene Laverne:What's your regime?

45:59Arsène Wenger:My regime is get up in the morning, let's do it straight away, and after you can do what you want, you know, you have done it.

46:06Laurene Laverne:Kick back with some coconuts on the island, okay. Now, of course, we'll give you the books to take with you when we cast you away, the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare, and a book of your choice. What would you like?

46:16Arsène Wenger:I would say Around the World in 80 Days from Jules Verne, who is a French writer, and his book is fascinating because it shows the power of imagination.

46:28Laurene Laverne:You can also have a luxury item for pleasure or sensory stimulation. What will that be?

46:33Arsène Wenger:A ball. A ball was a friend of my life, you know. He was with me everywhere. And if I go out in the corridor and there's a ball there, I have to touch him, you know. So that is my companion.

46:47Laurene Laverne:Well, it's yours for the island. And finally, if you had to save just one of the eight tracks that you've shared with us today, which would it be?

46:55Arsène Wenger:I would say Avec le temps, from Léo Ferrier. Because it says basically that time is a good doctor. It heals you, it heals every wound, and you have to get over that in life. It's not only success, it's as well suffering, and you have to give time to time sometimes.

47:17Laurene Laverne:Arsene Wenger, thank you so much for sharing your Desert Island Discs with us.

47:20Arsène Wenger:Thank you very much.

47:26Thank you.

47:58Thank you.