Wenger, still in 'shock', sets deadline for future plans

Arsene Wenger admits he is still in shock after the curtain finally came down on his 22-year-reign as Arsenal manager and told The Guardian he will decide by the start of the World Cup as to do next.

The 68-year-old Frenchman -- whose trophy-laden reign at the Gunners came to an end without any silverware in his final season and failed to secure Champions League football for next term -- said he hadn't discounted taking on a different role.

Wenger -- who is to attend the World Cup in Russia as a pundit for Qatari-owned TV channel Bein Sports -- stood down a year before his contract was due to end amid increasing discontent both among the fans and the board.

"It's just too soon to know what I will do next," he told The Guardian in an interview conducted in Paris this week shortly after he had taken charge of his 1,235th and final match in the Arsenal dugout -- a 1-0 win at Huddersfield Town.

"I haven't even emptied my desk yet and in a way I am still in a state of shock.

"I am going to give myself until June 14, the day the World Cup begins, to decide.

"The question is do I still want to coach, to be on the bench, or is it time to take up different functions? The one thing I can say for sure is that I will continue to work."
"I want to continue to defend my ideas of football, that's for sure. Spontaneously, I would say I still want to coach but I can't really say that yet for sure."
- 'Write new chapters' -
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"As all good writers know, that can be a time of anguish but I hope I won't have too much of that. It's also a chance to write new chapters."