"Arsène Who?" screamed the back page of the
London Evening Standard when Arsenal were linked with an unknown
Frenchman 11 years ago.
These days, English football is more open to the quality of foreign
coaches - not only their names but their teams are well known to
fans and chairmen alike.
Arsène Wenger believes that should Tottenham appoint Juande
Ramos, as the British media are predicting, it will be much easier
for the Spaniard to settle in than when he came here from Japan.
"It's not the same compared to when I arrived," he
said. "Now foreign managers have more credit than I did when I
arrived. A guy like Ramos, people expect him to be good already.
"When I arrived I was alone as a foreign manager. It's
much easier now as a foreign manager. The country has opened in the
last 10 years."
And, although there is little time to fashion a squad, the
all-important honeymoon period must be used wisely.
"It's a bit more difficult to arrive now because you
don't [get time to] build the team," he said.
"But it's easier because you have time in the first year
to analyse well what problems you have.
"Usually a change of manager gives the guy coming in time. In
the first year you're not under big pressure, you're given
time."
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