Why Arsene Wenger stayed away from Arsenal as he makes surprise appearance at PSG match

Arsene Wenger once revealed that he steered clear of his beloved after leaving in 2018 to give the club a chance to start anew. The former manager, who spent 22 years with the , made a surprise appearance at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to take in the semi-final first leg against .

While headed back to the Parc des Princes with a 1-0 win, courtesy of Ousmane Dembele's strike in the fourth minute, presence was felt among supporters thanks to his success with the Gunners in the past.

The Frenchman won three titles, seven FA Cups and seven Community Shields with across his 22-year tenure, and is still the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history.

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However, following his departure in 2018, Wenger stayed away from the Emirates Stadium for one particular reason.

It actually took the 76-year-old four years to return to where he found major success, appearing at a Premier League clash between the Gunners and United on Day in 2022.

Just the season prior, current coach admitted that he wanted Wenger among the new Arsenal stars at the club, stating: "Hopefully we can bring him close because I think he would have a great time just seeing the environment that he can create around him when he’s around this place.

"That is because of the respect, admiration and love that everybody at the club has for what he’s done and for what he represents as a person in this club."

Despite this, Wenger has returned just twice - once in 2022 and once on Tuesday to watch the 1-0 defeat to PSG - and he has good reason for doing so.

In 2022, at the launch of former Arsenal chairman and close friend David Dein's book, Wenger claimed he wanted to stay away from the club to make sure he didn't cause any unnecessary problems.

At the time, the Arsenal icon said: "No, I haven't been there, I think you know after 22 years maybe I arrived at the end of the road and people wanted a change, I can understand.

"I must say I always loyal to the club and turned many many clubs down because I felt like my life was linked with the club.

"The club has chosen a different direction, that I can understand completely and sometimes you need to change completely and have a new start.

"My presence there could have been a problem, so I stay away completely and give the club the chance to rebuild a new connection with the new manager and that's why I never talked about Arsenal, never came back to Arsenal because I didn't want to be a presence that is not maybe not good for the club."

Whether these thoughts still ring true for Wenger to this day, it seems that the Frenchman's previous success may well serve as a focal point for the club right now as they aim for a comeback against PSG.

Arsenal will be hoping to overcome a singular goal deficit against the French club in the away leg of the Champions League semi-final, which will kick off on Wednesday, May 7 at 8pm.

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