Rio Ferdinand told Arsene Wenger "you should be an MP" after the Arsenal legend swerved a question asking him to name the favourite player he coached at London Colney.
The Frenchman was reluctant to "single out" one individual from his 22-year stint in the Gunners hot seat and insisted managers care about attitude just as much as raw skill.
However, Wenger did name-drop fabled strike partners Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry as two of the most-talented players he worked with during his time in north London.
While Ferdinand was unable to get the one-name answer he was looking for, he was impressed by the 72-year-old's thoughtful response to the question.
The former Manchester United defender joked that Wenger's diplomatic answer without giving a decisive verdict makes him suited for a role in Parliament.
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"I don't give you one name," Wenger said on Ferdinand's FIVE YouTube Channel when asked who the best player to coach was at Arsenal. "When you coach you do not necessarily admire the most-talented.
"You admire sometimes the most-reliable, the guy who never disappoints you. So, you have so many players and as well a little position of parent.
"You do not want to single out somebody when you love them all the same. The distance is the same."
At this point, Ferdinand interjected to say, "You should be an MP, a diplomat," prompting Wenger to burst out laughing.
The Englishman then pressed Wenger, who had been discussing FIFA's controversial plans for a biennial World Cup, for an answer to his original question.
"The most-talented players are of course the [Dennis] Bergkamps, the [Thierry] Henrys and these guys who score goals and make your dream to be a top-class football player," Wenger responded.
"But you admire as well the right-back who every Saturday... Lee Dixon for example, I admire him of course.
"These [previous] generations maybe less skilful, less talented because because the evolution of the game has become more technical, but they were accountable.
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"When you're a manager, you respect that. Your job is on the line and you know that at least what you want from the players is that they give you exactly what they have every time.
"These generations were not educated to practice with 100 per cent concentration, they were educated to turn up on Saturday.
"Sometimes I was sitting there thinking, 'I don't play him, he had a poor week in training', and on Saturday he surprised me, he turned up with a top-level performance. So, that's what you love."
