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Football London
Football London
Sport
Josh Challies

Arsene Wenger picks out the precise moment he felt Arsenal 'slipped away' from him

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes the club have 'slipped away, revealing that he regrets that the club became 'inhuman' during his tenure.

The long-serving boss spent 22 years in charge of the Gunners, overseeing vast success on and off the pitch, culminating with the move to the Emirates Stadium in 2006.

However, Wenger believes that Arsenal lost some of their identity along the way and regrets that the size of the club became 'inhuman' during his reign in charge.

Arsene Wenger accepts Legend award

"These days, the size of the clubs sometimes stops them from keeping the culture of performance," he told So Foot.

"When I arrived at Arsenal, we were 80 people.

"When I left, there were 750, and when there's 750 people in one organisation, each one thinks about saving themselves rather than improving.

"I think there's a degree of reflection for me: how do you keep that desire to perform? Up to about 150 people, I think you can stay human.

"You know the name of the wife, of the kid of such and such.

"My regret at Arsenal is to have gone from human size to inhuman, with a larger administrative weight. Everything accelerated.

"Ten years ago, you'd see a guy who was good, you'd get him in, give him a tracksuit and he'd be a part of the team.

"That's long gone. Now, if you want a new physio, you go through 300 applications. That's how, at Arsenal, bit by bit, I felt the club slip away from me."

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