Wenger turns down deal of $37m in China

Arsène Wenger; born 22 October 1949), is a French football manager and former player. He has been the manager of Arsenal since October 1996, where he has since become the club's longest-serving manager and most successful in terms of major titles won. Football pundits give Wenger credit for his contribution to the revolutionising of football in England in the late 1990s through the introduction of changes in the training and diet of players.

Wenger was born in Strasbourg and raised in Duttlenheim. He was introduced to football by his father, the manager of the local village team. After a modest playing career, in which he made appearances for several amateur clubs, Wenger obtained a manager's diploma in 1981. Following an unsuccessful period at Nancy which culminated in his dismissal in 1987, Wenger joined AS Monaco; the club won the league championship in 1988. In 1991, Wenger guided Monaco to victory in the Coupe de France, but their failure to regain the league title in later seasons led to his departure from the club by mutual consent in 1994. He briefly coached Japanese J.League side Nagoya Grampus Eight, which won the Emperor's Cup and Japanese Super Cup during his stint.

In 1996, Wenger was named manager of Arsenal and two years later the club completed a league and FA Cup double. The club won another league and cup double in 2002 and retained the FA Cup a year later. In 2004, Wenger managed Arsenal to an undefeated league season, a feat last accomplished by Preston North End, 115 years previously. Arsenal later eclipsed Nottingham Forest's record of 42 league matches unbeaten and went seven more matches before losing in October 2004. The club made their first appearance in a Champions League final in 2006, though they lost to Barcelona. After a period of nine years without a trophy, which coincided with the club relocating to the Emirates Stadium, Wenger guided Arsenal to further FA Cup success in 2014 and 2015. Alongside George Ramsay, he is the most successful manager in the competition's history with six titles.

The nickname "Le Professeur" (French for "The Professor") is used by fans and the British media to reflect Wenger's studious demeanour. His approach to the game emphasises an attacking mentality, with the aim that football ought to be entertaining on the pitch. Wenger's Arsenal teams have been criticised for their indiscipline; his players received 100 red cards between September 1996 and February 2014, though the team has won awards for sporting fair play. At Monaco, Wenger earned a reputation for spotting young talent, and he has remained focused on developing a youth system.

Premier League Records

label.tablePlayerRecords

Matches	777
Wins	449
Draws	192
Losses	136
Goals For	1,464
Goals Against	740

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is said to have turned down a stunning offer from a Chinese Super League club which would have made him the highest-paid manager in the world.

British media reports said an unnamed Chinese soccer club offered to pay the Arsenal manager 30 million pounds ($37 million) a year, double what the current best-paid manager Pep Guardiola earns at Manchester City. 

The reports suggested that the Gunners'boss rejected the offer to focus on Arsenal for the remainder of the season.

Mark Dreyer, a Beijing-based sports writer who edits the China Sports Insider website, said he did not see Wenger as a good fit in China: "He has been at Arsenal for so long, and it is almost impossible to see him at another club. I don’t think he is going to suddenly jump ship, as he has had so many offers for other jobs, such as the England job, that he has not taken."

The alleged offer dwarves the two-year extension that Arsenal has proposed to Wenger, which would pay him about 10 million pounds a year.

Dreyer said: "I don’t see him going to China for the money. I am sure he is very well paid at Arsenal, - not 30 million pounds a year - but that is not his motivation at this stage in his career and he is a long-term type of guy."

Wenger has been under pressure from some Arsenal fans to leave after the club’s poor performance in the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League.

Following Arsenal’s 1-5 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Wenger, 67, confirmed he would not retire, saying "no matter what happens, I will manage next season, whether it’s here or somewhere else."

Simon Chadwick, a professor of sports enterprise at Salford Business School in Manchester, UK, said "Wenger is arguably the most experienced manager in club football anywhere in the world. His success at Arsenal has been achieved using a combination of home-grown talent and shrewdly acquired players."

"Both are what China needs right now - especially the former - if it is to achieve its global football ambitions, so, it is no surprise that he has been attracting the attention of Chinese clubs."

Chadwick thinks Wenger is particularly well qualified to work in China as he has previous experience of East Asia, having worked in Japan, saying "interestingly, he did so at a time when the J-League was at the same stage of development as the CSL now finds itself."

Wenger has failed to take Arsenal to victory in the English Premier League for 13 years and his teams often seem fragile.

Chadwick said that he no longer appears able to keep pace with younger, more progressive managers such as Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp - the current manager of Liverpool - which suggests that China would be best to see Wenger as a senior leader and director rather than as a day-to-day coach.