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The three-time Premier League winner was visibly disappointed at the lack of local coaches in his native France's top division
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has decried the state of France’s Ligue 1, especially as regards the number of foreign managers currently employed in the league.
Wenger bemoans lack of French managers in Ligue 1
As many as 10 foreign managers currently manage Ligue 1 clubs, including former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique, who replaced Paris Saint-Germain’s Christophe Galtier, despite the Frenchman winning the league.
Wenger, who coached Arsenal in England for 18 years between 1996 and 2018, becoming a cult hero at the club, noted that the proportion of coaches from France in Ligue 1 was too low and unfair to the local coaches, who had not been given chances to succeed.
Speaking during a conference in France, Wenger said, “I don’t think the proportion is fair currently; it is a bit too high in France. That there is a share of foreign managers is normal because they bring fresh ideas.
“But now, there is a reciprocity in the acknowledgement of coaching degrees in Europe, there is nothing to restrain this trend.”
Wenger calls out Ligue 1 owners
The 74-year-old ex-manager also noted that the lack of French coaches in the top flight was not due to a lack of coaching talent in the land but rather to the owners of clubs being unwilling to trust French managers.
The former Monaco and Nancy manager added, “What I want to say above all, is that it isn’t linked to the quality of French managers, but rather to the identities of the owners of the clubs.”
The highest-profile French coach currently in Ligue 1 remains Lens’ Frank Haise, who led the minnows to an astounding second-place finish last season.
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