Mikel Arteta wants Arsene Wenger to play more of a role at Arsenal, arguing it would benefit everyone at the club to have him around.

Arsene Wenger presente sa biographie a Strasbourg NEWS : Arsene Wenger presente sa biographie a Strasbourg - 17/10/2020 ELY androcegarra/panoramic
Arsene Wenger presents his biography to Strasbourg – 17/10/2020. ELY androcegarra / panoramic

After spending the best part of 22 years with Arsenal as their manager, Arsène Wenger has taken a hands-off approach to the club since leaving.

Wenger isn’t involved in the day-to-day activities, and he hasn’t taken up a position on the board. More notably, he hasn’t even returned to watch games from the stands, and at one point he stated he doesn’t intend to.

You can understand why Wenger would want a clean break. After so long at Arsenal, he probably needed it to be able to move onto his next job. He might also believe it’s better for Arsenal not to have him as a distraction as they try to take their next step.

But Mikel Arteta doesn’t agree. Speaking this week, the current Arsenal boss said it would be a big bonus if Wenger was around in North London more often.

“I would like him to be more present at the club,” Arteta said. “I think the players would love him, benefit, and be inspired to have him around and I think for the club it would be a huge boost.

“It was so intense for him for over 20 years and you need to get away a little bit, but I think it would be so beneficial for all parties to have him more present.

“If it was not for him I would not be in the position I am today and I wouldn’t have enjoyed the career I had.”

Arteta already has a few former players around him at Arsenal.

Edu is obviously working as technical director, Per Mertesacker as academy manager, Jack Wilshere is training with the squad and coaching the young players, and the likes of David Seaman have been spotted back visiting the training ground recently.

Now we’ll see how successful Arteta is at convincing a former manager to return.