Wenger - I’m so proud of charitable work

Arsene Wenger has revealed his pride at the social work the club carries out both in England and across the globe.

Arsenal’s community department was opened in 1985, and has since grown to deliver 407 hours of work each week to more than 5,000 local participants.

The club is also involved in a host of worldwide charitable projects, with the Arsenal Foundation recently funding two artificial football pitches within camps in Iraq for children and families who have been forced to flee their homes.

Wenger is appreciative of the work the club does globally, and says it is only right that they try to give something back.

“Arsenal has always been deeply involved in charity work and social responsibility,” he told Arsenal Player. “To begin with we were only involved locally in Islington, but today we are involved worldwide.

“The head of the community department, Alan Sefton, has been there from the start. He was quite lonely at first, but that has become very big now, and I’m very proud of the way it has grown.

“There are many examples of people who are in employment and fulfilling their potential who had previously been in trouble. To witness how much it helps them is absolutely fantastic.

“We are also involved with Save the Children in territories where it is very difficult to get into, where there are very limited resources, like Iraq. These are countries who are at war or who have refugee camps.

“I believe that the little bit of happiness we can give these people comes from football and through educating them. That’s why our ambassadors do a great job all over the world to spread that positive force.”