Paris: Arsene Wenger, who has just celebrated 10 years as Arsenal manager, believes his side can beat champions and London rivals Chelsea to the Premier League title this season.
"It's satisfying to think that Chelsea are not the only ones who can be successful, even with money", the Frenchman told French sports daily L'Equipe in an interview on Tuesday. "Chelsea can be beaten this year in England. I'm profoundly convinced of that. And I believe we can beat them."
Wenger said his major achievement of the past decade was to have transformed the London club's image, from "boring Arsenal" into a spectacular side.
"That's what I'm the most proud of," he said. "Our leitmotiv is to win, but to win in style. Frankly, I'm satisfied in a way, as well as surprised, when I'm travelling abroad and people tell me 'We like Arsenal because they play nice football'. That was one of the goals, to bring a bit of the French culture, to make the English game more technical, to force England to look at the game differently".
Wenger said one of the first steps he had taken at Arsenal had been to force the players to have a healthy diet. "I banned those chocolate bars the players were stuffing themselves with," he said. "On the bus to Blackburn (for Wenger's first game in charge), the players were chanting 'We want our chocolate bars'. At halftime, they expected me to yell like a madman and I didn't say a thing. They were used to being shouted at."
Despite all his years of living in England, the Arsenal manager said he still felt himself to be a Frenchman. "I'm French. I have not become an Englishman. I have the impression of living on an island called Arsenal. "If you fancy a sightseeing tour of London, don't ask me. You would get lost."
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