Arsene Wenger could leave Arsenal for PSG?

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is preparing to leave England at the end of his current contract in 2011 and is already making plans for his next role in football, The Sunday Telegraph understands. Wenger has been in France this week advising Paris St Germain over their long-term strategy and is believed to have set his sights on becoming president of the French club in three years.

The Frenchman remains determined to take his talented young Arsenal team as far he can before then and will continue his quest to claim the one major trophy that has so far eluded him, the Champions League. However, the prospect of returning to his homeland to oversee another ambitious project at PSG is thought to appeal to the 58-year-old.

Arsene Wenger
Moving upstairs? Arsene Wenger could be off to the French capital to become president of PSG

With Wenger's long-time rival Sir Alex Ferguson poised to quit Manchester United in the next three years, the Premier League is in danger of losing two of its most successful, colourful and influential figures at the same time. Ferguson could even take up Lord Sebastian Coe's offer of coaching a Great Britain football team at the 2012 London Olympics.

The surprise appointment of Wenger's close friend Charles Villeneuve as PSG president this week has triggered intense speculation in France, with sources close to the club claiming the Gunners boss was behind the decision and intends to succeed Villeneuve when he leaves Arsenal.

Villeneuve, 66, recently retired as head of sport for the television station TF1, with whom Wenger works on a regular basis, and admits speaking to Wenger before accepting the post. "When they offered me the job, I consulted Arsene and he said, 'Charles, are you ready to suffer?' I decided to accept the challenge," he said.

Villeneuve reacted to the suggestion he is merely keeping the seat warm for Wenger by pointing out that the Alsatian is contracted to Arsenal and remains more determined than ever to win the Champions League. "Arsene has won almost everything but he wants to get the cherry to put on the cake," he said. Intriguingly, Villeneuve added: "I think he will need two or three years to do that," and then confirmed that he himself only envisages staying at PSG for three years.
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Villeneuve's arrival represents a dramatic change in PSG's strategy and has left many at the club perplexed. Michel Moulin, who was PSG's director of sport for the last month of this season and was seen as the favourite to become president, has been angered by Wenger's intervention and is convinced the former Monaco boss is Paris-bound. "I'm certain that [former Arsenal defender] Gilles Grimandi will be the new director of sport and Wenger will soon become president of PSG," Moulin said.

The appointment of Villeneuve was made by Colony Capital, the American investment group that owns 62.5 percent of PSG. Their managing director in Europe, Sebastien Bazin, is also acquainted with Wenger, having first met him at last summer's Emirates Cup. It is thought that Wenger urged Bazin to appoint Villeneuve, and the three figures met over lunch in Paris on Wednesday to discuss PSG's transfer policy. Two ex-Arsenal players, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord, have since been linked with moves to Paris, as has another former Wenger protege Lilian Thuram.

This week's meeting was not the first time Wenger had advised PSG on transfers either. Former PSG president Alain Cayzac, who was sacked in April, revealed he pulled out of signing Chelsea's Claude Makelele last year after Wenger had warned him off. "I discussed it with Wenger and he told me we already had enough good midfielders," Cayzac said.

Wenger, meanwhile, has admitted helping PSG and did not rule out the possibility of playing a more powerful role in the future. "Sometimes clubs ask me for my opinion and I answer to whoever I want," he told Le Parisien on Thursday. "My future is at Arsenal, where I have a contract until 2011. After that, we'll see."

Villeneuve's next task is to find a new director of sport, and again Wenger appears to be implicated. Grimandi, currently working as a scout for Wenger in France, was heavily linked with the post before curiously ruling himself out. Another of Wenger's contacts, Tottenham's director of sport Damien Comolli, has since emerged as the top target. With Colony Capital seeking new investors with a view to ultimately selling their stake, reports have suggested former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein is ready to get involved with PSG too.

Dein, who left Arsenal last year, has remained in close contact with Wenger and is also a friend of Villeneuve's. The PSG president fuelled speculation by saying he would "welcome a person like Dein investing in the club". Yet Dein, speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, said he had not been contacted. "I know Villeneuve well it's true, after all I've been round the block a few times," Dein said. "But [PSG's interest] is news to me." Reacting to the suggestion Wenger could join PSG, Dein added: "I'm not sure I believe it. Of course anything is possible. Arsene gets propositioned all the time."

Dein was responsible for bringing Wenger to Arsenal in 1996 and the pair enjoyed a close working relationship during 11 highly successful years. Wenger revolutionised the club, transforming training methods, bringing exceptional players to England, instigating the stadium move and overseeing a haul of three Premier League titles and four FA Cups.

Despite three seasons without a trophy, Wenger is still revered by the fans and news of his collaboration with PSG will only add to the uncertainty that has surfaced since speculation over the club's ownership began more than a year ago. Fans may also feel aggrieved that, having stated his intention to sign new players this summer, Wenger appears sidetracked by issues in his homeland and is yet to complete a major signing.

The PSG Connection
Paris St Germain are one France's most prestigious clubs but have been in decline for several years and only narrowly avoided relegation in the past two seasons. The glory days of the 1990s, when the club boasted glittering talents like David Ginola and George Weah, are now a distant memory. But as the only major club in the French capital PSG possess a huge supporter base and have the potential to become a force in European football again, particularly with plans in the pipeline to sell the Parc des Princes and move into the 80,000-seat Stade de France.

The Players
Sebastien Bazin
The managing director of Colony Capital who own 62.5 percent of PSG. The Paris-born entrepreneur met Wenger at the Emirates Cup tournament last summer, was extremely impressed and has held discussions with the Arsenal manager this week. Colony Capital aim to sell their PSG stake at a profit and Bazin is seeking new investors.

Charles Villeneuve
A former army sergeant, Wenger's friend Villeneuve was a shock appointment as PSG president this week. The 66-year-old former journalist wrote for Paris Match and was a TV presenter for TF1 before becoming head of sport for the channel that employs Wenger as a football expert. Knows little about football and this week admitted he had never heard of PSG's longest-serving player Bernard Mendy.

Michel Moulin
The managing director of Hersant media group, Moulin was appointed director of sport of PSG in April with the short-term objective of saving the club from relegation. Disappointed not to have been made president after helping turn around the club's fortunes, he claims Wenger is being lined up for the role.

David Dein
The former Arsenal vice-chairman was responsible for bringing Wenger to England in 1996. The pair forged a strong relationship and Dein's departure in April 2007 - due to "irreconcilable differences" between himself and the rest of the Arsenal board - unsettled the Frenchman. Dein sold his 14.58% share in the club to Alisher Uzmanov's investment vehicle Red and White Holdings four months later.

Gilles Grimandi
Signed by Wenger from Monaco in 1997, the French defender won two doubles during his five seasons at Highbury. The 37-year-old has been working as a scout in France for Wenger since 2005 and was linked with the director of sport position at PSG this week.

Damien Comolli
Following Grimandi's about turn, PSG want to bring Tottenham director of sport Comolli to Paris in a consultancy role. Comolli is close to Wenger, having worked with him at Monaco, Grampus Eight in Japan and for seven years at Arsenal. Comolli's future at Spurs is currently in doubt.

Alain Cayzac
Cayzac was sacked as president in April this year after overseeing the worst run of results in the club's history. On leaving, he admitted to consulting with Wenger over transfers last summer and revealed he had tried to lure Jose Mourinho to Paris.