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ARSENE WENGER CONFIRMS HE HAS BEEN OFFERED MAN UTD JOB

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Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reportedly said he was offered the Manchester United  job during his career. Wenger, who left Arsenal in 2018 after 22 years at the club, has not been back in management since leaving the Gunners.

The 70-year-old enjoyed a fierce rivalry with the Red Devils and Sir Alex Ferguson during his time in charge in north London.

According to UK publication, Mirror, Wenger has now revealed that he has been offered the chance to manage United in the past – but remained tight-lipped when pressed on when that offer was presented.

Wenger is now pondering his future as he considers whether or not to return to the sport having turned down a number of opportunities.

After a mention of Paris Saint-Germain in an interview with The Times, Wenger said: “I was offered that job a few times.”

He confirmed he was also offered roles at Bayern Munich, Real MadridBarcelonaJuventus, the France national team.

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When asked about Manchester United he said: “Yes,” but added “I don’t tell you that” when asked when the offer came.

“But I can tell you Man Utd offered me the job.”

It has previously been reported that Wenger was in line for the job back in 2000/01 when Sir Alex Ferguson considered retirement.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Ten Hag’s Man United future not my call, Ratcliffe says

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FA Cup - Final - Manchester City v Manchester United - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - May 25, 2024 Manchester United co owner Jim Ratcliffe is pictured in the stands before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo

Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said a decision about under-fire manager Erik ten Hag is not his call, and was reticent about whether he still has faith in the team’s boss amid their worst start to the Premier League season since 1986-87.

“I don’t want to answer that question,” Ratcliffe told the BBC. “I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.

“That team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April — Omar (Berrada, CEO), (Sporting Director) Dan Ashworth — they only arrived in July.

“They’ve only been there . . . you can count it in weeks almost — they’ve not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”

Ten Hag’s job was the subject of speculation for much of last season en route to the team’s lowest Premier League finish of eighth. After an FA Cup final victory over Manchester City and an end-of-season review, however, Ten Hag signed a new contract to extend his stay at Old Trafford until 2026.

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“Our objective is very clear, we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously, that’s very clear,” Ratcliffe said.

Ten Hag continues to plead for patience from fans with the team languishing 13th in the Premier League table, having lost three of their six opening games. They were headed towards defeat by Porto in the Europa League on Thursday before Harry Maguire scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a 3-3 draw.

-Reuters

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Saka says this is Arsenal’s year after back-to-back Premier League misses

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 Champions League - Arsenal v Paris St Germain - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - October 1, 2024 Paris St Germain's Nuno Mendes in action with Arsenal's Bukayo Saka REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

Arsenal can go all the way and end their 21-year wait for a Premier League title this season, winger Bukayo Saka said after his side beat Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Arsenal finished runners-up in 2022-23 and took the Premier League title race to the final day last season before once again finishing second behind Manchester City.

The north London side are in the mix this season, sitting third in the league standings, and their impressive victory over French heavyweights PSG underlined their title credentials, with Kai Havertz and Saka scoring in the match.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on us but I do think that this is the year (that we can win the title),” Saka told CBS Sports.

“I think we’ve been close the last two years and we’re getting closer but this hopefully will be the year.”

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Saka, who has established himself as a key player at Arsenal and was their top-scorer in the Premier League last season, said the club’s near misses had left him hungry for success.

“Previous years, I’ve come runners-up a lot. It’s just that spirit in me that I want to win this season and of course, I believe in myself a lot,” the 23-year-old told Amazon Prime.

“With those two things, it helps. We believe in ourselves, we believe we’re a top team. We showed that tonight (against PSG). I did tell the boys we have to make a statement when big teams are coming to the Emirates.”

Arsenal next host 19th-placed Southampton in a league match on Saturday.

-Reuters

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In ‘Battle of Four Super Eagles’ Aina and Awoniyi are lost in the Forest as Bassey and Iwobi triumph

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Four Super Eagles players were in a contest Saturday night in an English Premier League battle that paired two on both sides.

Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi were in the Fulham side that raided Nottingham Forest who paraded the duo of  Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi.

It was one of the late Premier League matches of the day. Iwobi and Bassey were in the winning side as Nottingham lost 1-0 at home.

Awoniyi had a good chance to score in the 19th minute after getting on the end of a nice pass. Unfortunately for him, he smashed his volley just wide.

The first half did not see many chances and it ended goalless. Awoniyi had just one shot on goal and by the break, coach Nuno Espirito Santo decided to take him off for Anthony Elanga.

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However, that did not give Forest the attacking edge they were looking for.

Rather, just three minutes into the second half, they conceded a penalty. Fulham striker Raul Jimenez made no mistake as he converted with aplomb to make it 1-0 to his side.

Iwobi had a good chance to score in the 61st minute after a nice build-up from the midfield.

But his strike was blocked by a defender. Despite the fact that they were searching for goals, Nottingham Forest failed to create much in the final third.

Aina was decent, but could not do much in the attacking third. On the other hand, Bassey was sturdy at the back for Fulham. After 90 minutes, the game ended 1-0 to Fulham.

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