Arsene Wenger has revealed the secret behind his remarkable longevity at Arsenal - his unbridled love for the game.
The Frenchman will take charge of his 1,000th game at the club on Saturday when his side face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The 64-year-old is proud to reach the milestone and says there is a very simple reason for it.
"I run after that happiness week after week. Sometimes you touch it a little bit but of course it goes and you fight to get it again"
Arsene Wenger
“My love for people, players and for the game,” he said. “And my excitement for the next game. Maybe I have an idea of making the players perfect, having the ideal game, the perfect game.
“I run after that happiness week after week. Sometimes you touch it a little bit but of course it goes and you fight to get it again.
“It's a privilege of course to have managed 1,000 games at the same club and between the moment I met David Dein and he introduced me to Peter Hill-Wood of course a lot has happened at this club.
“I must say for such a long time the club has always supported me and I feel already that I'm privileged in that because that's not always usual in our game. We have gone through difficult and fantastic periods but we have always remained focused on being united.
“That's why I acted always with three things in my mind. The first one is that every decision I make is like I own the club, that [it is] always in the interest of the club first.
“The second is that I think I am in a job where you need to have a clear perception of your ideas and have the courage to transform it into actions.
“The third that has always guided me is to make this club grow and make sure that it is bigger when I leave than when I arrived. Time will tell if I managed to do that but I hope so.”
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