When Arsène Wenger stepped down as Arsenal manager in 2018, it marked the end of one of the longest and most influential managerial reigns in modern football. After 22 years at the club, three Premier League titles, and an unbeaten league season, his departure was emotional, divisive, and, by his own admission, deeply painful.
Many expected Wenger to return quickly in another high-profile managerial role. Instead, the Frenchman chose a different path. While he has not returned to the dugout, Wenger has remained heavily involved in football, shaping the sport from boardrooms rather than touchlines. From FIFA reforms to media work, his post-Arsenal years have been busy, as this article highlights.
FIFA: A New Role Shaping the Game
In 2019, Wenger was appointed FIFA’s first-ever Chief of Global Football Development, a position he still holds. The role gives him considerable influence over the future direction of the sport, from grassroots participation to elite competition.
As part of his responsibilities, Wenger sits on the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body responsible for setting the Laws of the Game. Few former managers have been given such direct authority over football’s rules, and Wenger has used the platform to push for a number of reforms. While his ideas are generally well-meaning and aimed at improving attacking play and game flow, many have divided opinions among fans.
Offside Reform: The Daylight Rule
Wenger’s most high-profile campaign concerns offside law reform. First raised publicly in 2020, he has consistently advocated for the so-called ‘daylight’ offside rule. Under this proposal, an attacker would be onside if any part of their body is level with the last defender. To be ruled offside, there would need to be a visible gap, however small, between attacker and defender.
The aim is to prevent goals being ruled out because half of a forward’s foot is offside. Wenger believes such decisions undermine attacking football and frustrate fans. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has spoken positively about the idea, and it has been trialled at youth levels while remaining on IFAB’s agenda.
However, the proposal has drawn criticism. While few enjoy lengthy VAR checks searching for an offside toenail, the unintended consequences could be significant. A more attacker-friendly offside law may encourage teams to defend deeper, abandoning high defensive lines to protect the space in behind. Deeper defensive lines are unlikely to make football a better spectacle.
There are also practical concerns. VAR already struggles with marginal decisions, and judging ‘daylight’ between two moving players could be even more subjective. Assistant referees, trained for decades under the current interpretation, would be forced to radically adjust their approach. It would be such a shift that Darren Cann, assistant referee in the 2010 World Cup final, would not welcome. Indeed, he stated he would have resigned if such a rule had been introduced while he was active.
Replacing Throw-Ins with Kick-Ins
Another of Wenger’s more radical ideas is replacing throw-ins with kick-ins when the ball goes out of play in a team’s own half. Wenger has argued that teams frequently lose possession from throw-ins, partly because the throwing team is temporarily outnumbered on the pitch. He has claimed that possession is lost in eight out of 10 throw-in situations, though those figures have been questioned.
Critics argue that if throw-ins were truly such a disadvantage, teams would deliberately kick the ball out of play far more often than they do. There is also doubt over whether kick-ins would improve the spectacle. Rather than speeding the game up, kick-ins could encourage teams to load the box from deeper areas, turning routine restarts into extended set-piece situations.
Self Free-Kicks
Wenger has also proposed allowing players to touch the ball multiple times when taking a free-kick, scrapping the rule that requires another player to touch it first. The intention is to speed up restarts and reduce time-wasting, allowing fouled players to get up and immediately resume play. While less controversial than some of his other ideas, it is hard to see a huge benefit from this one.
Outswinging Corners
One of Wenger’s smaller suggested tweaks is to allow corners that swing out of play before curling back into the pitch to be considered valid. Wenger believes relaxing this rule would create more variety at set-pieces and generate additional goal-scoring opportunities. While a minor change, it reflects his continued focus on attacking innovation that could result in more goals. Out of all his ideas, this might be the least controversial, in part because it is difficult to judge if the ball has gone out of play in such situations.
Opposition to Multi-Club Ownership
Not all of Wenger’s views since leaving Arsenal have divided opinion. His strong opposition to multi-club ownership is something many fans agree with. The Frenchman has warned that private equity-backed ownership models threaten football’s integrity, creating conflicts of interest and distancing clubs from their local communities.
Speaking at a private equity summit in Berlin in 2024, Wenger warned that fans now feel major decisions affecting their clubs are made elsewhere, often by owners with priorities beyond sporting success. He gave the example of fans of Strasbourg knowing that club decisions are being made over at fellow BlueCo-owned Chelsea.
Broadcasting Appearances
Alongside his FIFA duties, Wenger has remained a familiar media presence. He has worked extensively as a pundit for beIN SPORTS, providing analysis during major competitions and international tournaments. He has also been no stranger to making appearances on other platforms, whether for interviews or podcasts, or writing articles. His name still commands much respect within football, so his insights and stories are still sought after.
Book Writing
In 2020, Wenger released his autobiography, My Life in Red and White, which became a Times bestseller. The book covers his upbringing, coaching philosophy, and long and illustrious Arsenal career, while also reflecting on leadership, loyalty, and regret. Wenger speaks candidly about his difficult exit from Arsenal, describing it as lonely and emotionally draining.
Investments
Towards the end of his Arsenal career, Wenger was reportedly earning around £8 million per year, giving him significant financial freedom. While he keeps his investments largely private, it is known that he invested in PlayerMaker, a boot-mounted sensor system that tracks detailed performance data such as sprint speed, stride length, shot velocity, and foot usage.
Could Wenger Return to Management?
Wenger has stated that he would never manage in England again. However, he has always been less definitive about retiring from management entirely. In 2019, he expected to take another job and reportedly received several offers, but nothing ever materialised. By 2021, he struck a more reflective tone, acknowledging that “our days come to an end at some stage,” while still refusing to rule out a return completely.
Now 76, age is an unavoidable factor. While Roy Hodgson has shown that managers can still work at that age, it is difficult to imagine many clubs appointing someone who has not managed day-to-day football for more than seven years. If Wenger were to return, it would likely be in a short-term or caretaker role, possibly at an international level. Even a move like this appears extremely unlikely, however.