Emmanuel Petit has opened up about the struggles he faced mourning the deaths of his brother, best friend and grandfather, and revealed how Arsene Wenger treated him like a human being before a footballer.

A lot of criticism is thrown around regarding Wenger’s man management. People think he’s a soft touch, doesn’t drill his squad hard enough, doesn’t shout enough and lets them get their own way. However, what’s often missed out of this criticism is how he works with the players on an individual level.

Countless footballers have spoken about how well Wenger builds their confidence, puts his faith in them and allows them to flourish into the footballers he can tell they’re supposed to be. The Frenchman has a way of coaxing the best out of people.

On top of this, Wenger is a good man. This is why former Arsenal midfielder, Petit’s, comments come as no surprise.

“I used to arrive very withdrawn at training, that’s true,” he said. “It wasn’t by lack of want or passion. It was because I was yet to make peace with the ghosts of my conscience. 

“I hadn’t grieved the deaths of my brother, grandfather and best friend. Wenger is a humane person who tries to treat people as humans before treating them as footballers. I adored working with him.”

These comments aren’t unusual. It’s rare that a footballer will leave Arsenal and have a bad word to say about the boss. The fact that some of the older players who have long gone and are now pundits still refer to him as ‘the boss’ and ‘gaffer’, even when he’s not around, speaks volumes about the amount of genuine respect people have for him.