Henry ‘wants Bordeaux job’ – Wenger backs Arsenal legend for Ligue 1 post

Thierry Henry holds the ambition to take over from Gus Poyet at Bordeaux, Arsene Wenger has claimed.

Arsenal’s record goal scorer has earned his coaching stripes in an assistant role with Belgium, where he helped the country finish third at World Cup 2018.

Now Wenger, who stood down from the Gunners role in the summer after over two decades in charge, says that his former protégé is interested in a more permanent position.

And the Bordeaux position is open, with Uruguayan Poyet having been suspended after criticising the club's transfer policy last week.

“He wants to do it,” the veteran boss told Corse Matin. “He is intelligent and he has the qualities. But the question that we always ask ourselves is whether we are ready to sacrifice our lives for the coaching profession.”

Wenger, meanwhile, would not be drawn on his own future, claiming that he is still in a type of “rehab” after spending more than two decades in London.

“I’ve decided not to decide,” he admitted. “I was intoxicated for so long that I made a promise to make no decision until September.

“We can even talk about it being a rehab since it’s the first time in 35 years that I’ve not been in charge of a team at the start of the season.”

A change of career is not on the cards, however, with the 68-year-old rejecting the possibility of going into politics.

“What I like about coaching is that we have theories and on Saturdays we get to show that they work. The result is immediate,” he said. “In politics, between theory and proof, the time can be much longer.”

Meanwhile, Wenger admitted that he held a “fear” of what he might do after leaving the Gunners.

“When you’ve been as busy as I’ve been, you always fear a little emptiness,” he admitted. “But I’ve quickly organised this new stage of my life. I do a lot of sport, I eat with my friends, talk a lot, contemplate the horizon for hours, and read all day.”

He confessed that he did not have a particularly proud moment of his career and even joked about being immortalised in bronze at the Emirates Stadium: “I’d rather be alive than a statue, but it’s a nice offer.”