As Arsenal manager, especially one that didn’t win trophies with the club for almost a decade, Arsene Wenger came under a huge amount of criticism and even considered leaving.

It was also clear, and still is, that if Wenger was ever going to leave Arsenal Football Club, it would be his own decision and no one else’s. The mutual respect between the manager and board is unique in modern football.

The boss has now revealed how he was considering leaving if we lost the FA Cup final last season, not because he wanted to but because he would be expected to.

Speaking about the important of the FA Cup as a trophy to both the club and him, personally, he said, “Maybe. I have the luck. I’ve won it five times with Arsenal. I know how big it is and how important it is but it is one game. On the other hand, you have to be serious when you’ve been at the club for seventeen or eighteen years. We should not, just on one game, a cup final, considered to be leaving for that but it’s what people want.”

Indeed, I think even the most vehement Wenger fan would have wavered if we hadn’t won that FA Cup final against Hull City. After all, if we couldn’t beat them, what chance did we have progressing in the league or attracting more top players? Luckily, obviously we did.

He went on to describe the immense pressure football managers are under, especially in the Premier League where every result can mean the world.

“We are in a job where we have to accept that we are on a permanent tribunal now and on every single game you are judged and you have to accept it and live with it.”

He added, “But still, you know what is great in our job? You have to believe in what is great in our game and the values that football can carry and the pleasure that we can give to people through the game and we have to focus on that. It’s still a great day and a moment that you can enjoy together and it has to be like that.”

The amount of love Wenger has, not only for Arsenal but football in general, after everything, is admirable to say the least.