As Arsene Wenger prepares for his 1,000th game at the Arsenal helm he has a record any manager would be proud of – but the Frenchman insists he is still not satisfied.
Since taking over the Gunners hot-seat in 1996, Wenger has guided the club to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup wins, but as he reflects on his time in North London, the 64-year-old says he is still hungry to have that ‘next moment of happiness’.
"Satisfaction is not one of my greatest qualities," said Wenger. "I cannot classify the moments of happiness and of sadness but what is for sure is that every defeat is a scar in your heart that you never forget.
Watch Arsene Wenger's FA Cup highlights
"The happiness you forget quickly because you find it normal, because that's what you work for. Unfortunately there is a lot of suffering as well in 1,000 games and what you want is the next moment of happiness.
"You're always expecting the next game and the next game hopefully will be a moment of happiness."
The next game for Arsenal is no easy task as they travel to Chelsea at lunchtime on Saturday for a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash, but big games are nothing new to Wenger.
Throughout his 17 years he has seen his side battle it out with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, and after influencing the transformation of English football and seeing it evolve during his reign, he spoke of the changes in the game during his time in this country.
"The game itself has become, maybe, more physical, faster, quicker, but especially the environment has changed and the pressures," he explained.
"The importance of football has become bigger, the multiple comments on every single event that happens in football has been multiplied. The pressure of the environment is of course bigger because we live in a society where we have more opinions, and maybe inside the club today you need to be stronger to resist all that, than when I arrived."
Wenger will take charge of his 1000th Arsenal match against Chelsea
And whilst accepting that the club took a chance on him when he was appointed, Wenger told Arsenal’s website that he has turned down several other offers to continue in the job that he loves.
"This club has given me a chance but I think as well, at an important period of the lifespan of this club, I have shown loyalty and have turned many things down, and accepted to work with restricted potential, knowing that I had to stay at the top of the game.
"I would just say I did that with full commitment. We are all only human beings, that means I certainly made mistakes, but I still think the consistency of our achievement shows that we have not made too many.
"I think as well when you come in as a manager you have to adapt and respect the tradition and the values of the club. As well try to bring your own style. What I met here at Arsenal was the freedom in work, the trust of people and I think I knew that and I rate that.
"The most important thing when you love a job is to wake up in the morning and be happy to go to to your job. I always had that here even when we had more difficult periods. That is why I always stayed here."
TheFA.com sat down with Wenger a short while ago as he told us of the highs and lows throughout his Arsenal career. Watch the full interview in the video player above.
