Wenger, who has spent 20 years as manager of Arsenal, has been strongly linked with England job

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry said yesterday there was no way he could see his former boss Arsene Wenger filling the vacant England manager’s position.
Wenger, who recently celebrated his 20th anniversary as manager of Arsenal, has been strongly linked with the job following the sacking of Sam Allardyce last month. “You can never say never but I personally don’t see it happening,” Henry told reporters in India’s commercial capital Mumbai.
Allardyce was dismissed following the publication by the Daily Telegraph of controversial comments made to undercover reporters. He was secretly filmed giving advice on how to circumnavigate transfer rules and mocking England predecessor Roy Hodgson.
Gareth Southgate is in temporary charge with England’s Football Association on the hunt for a full-time successor. Wenger’s contract with the Gunners is due to expire at the end of this Premier League campaign and he’s known to have several keen admirers at the FA.
But Henry, who won two top-flight league titles with Arsenal under Wenger, believes his fellow Frenchman may be lukewarm about the idea of coaching the English national team. “I think he answered himself recently when he said that the England manager should be English. That’s his own words,” said the former striker.
“I said recently that Arsene likes to be on the field on a daily basis and when you’re coach of a national team you don’t get to do that,” Henry added. Wenger has been on the receiving end of severe criticism by some fans frustrated by Arsenal’s failure to win the Premier League since 2004.
But Henry, Arsenal’s all-time top goal scorer, warned supporters to enjoy the 67-year-old while he is still at the club. “Be careful what you wish for because when he’s not going to be around people are going to realise what he was doing at the time,” said the World Cup winner, now an assistant coach with Belgium.
Arsenal sit joint top of the league on 20 points with Manchester City and Liverpool after nine games. Chelsea and Tottenham are just a point back. “It looks like finally things are going the right way,” said Henry, on a promotional tour of India for sports brand Puma.
“It would be great if in his 20th season in charge he can win the title. But are they going to do it? The competition is massive,” he added.
Henry says Arsenal’s star midfielder Mesut Ozil has Alexis Sanchez to thank for his goal-scoring streak this season. Ozil has netted six goals already this term – just two short of last campaign’s total – while he only has one assist, despite being known more as a playmaker than a goal scorer.
Henry thinks that is down to Sanchez playing up front this season instead of on the wing, which he says creates more space for the Germany international to exploit. “When you have a guy who as a No. 9, the way he puts pressure, the way he moves, his vision for the ball, that creates a lot of holes for Ozil,” Henry said. “That’s why Ozil is scoring a lot of goals – off the movement of Alexis Sanchez.”
Henry said that the Indian Super League football which attracts some big names from across the world can help massively in the development of the game in the country. Since the start of ISL in 2014, several leading names from world football have plied their trade in India and Henry believes the arrival of stars from around the globe can give a fillip to Indian football. “It helps massively when you have such people in the league,” said Henry.
The ISL has attracted top names like Zico, Roberto Carlos, Lucio, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero, Elano Blumer, Helder Postiga, Adrian Mutu and Nicolas Anelka to name a few. The Arsenal legend, who also played for Monaco, Juventus, Barcelona and New York Red Bulls, however, asked the organisers to ensure that more young Indian players come through the ranks and get a chance to rub shoulders with the best in the world.
“What helps more is if you can develop young Indian players who can play alongside these footballing greats and learn about the game. That’s what will be amazing,” said Arsenal and France’s leading goal-scorer.
Henry landed in Kolkata on Tuesday morning and within hours witnessed the ISL clash between Atletico de Kolkata and Mumbai City FC, a close encounter that left him impressed.
“I arrived into India and came to see the ISL match in the evening. The game needed a goal, which came late, but other than that it’s a good atmosphere here. It was a good game of football. We saw two good goalkeepers and Diego Forlan doing what he does best – putting the ball at the back of the net,” said Henry.