Arsène Wenger Responds to Rumours Linking Him With Bayern Munich Job

Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has confirmed his interest in taking over from Niko Kovač as Bayern Munich manager.

After Kovač was relieved of his duties, Wenger was quickly linked to the Bundesliga champions, who are eager to find a new first-team manager as soon as possible.

Speaking on ​beIN SPORTS, Wenger admitted he is interested in taking over as manager, although he was adamant that no talks have taken place. 

“I never refuse to talk to ​Bayern Munich because I know these people who lead the club for 30 years," Wenger revealed. "I was nearly going to Bayern a long, long time ago. At the moment, that is all I can say.

“At the moment, I haven’t talked to them at all. We have not talked to each other and I don’t know [if we will].”

However, ​Bild claim that Wenger has already met with executive chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and the Frenchman is now said to be the favourite for the position.

The Sun add that Wenger could be offered the position on a temporary basis until the end of the season, when ​Bayern will make a decision on whether to offer Wenger a longer contract or to pursue a younger manager instead.

The fact that Wenger speaks fluent German is believed to work in his favour, and Bayern feel that he would not need much time to settle in in Germany.

However, ​The Athletic claim Wenger is not actually on the list of candidates who are currently being considered for the vacant role, despite his willingness to return to management.

Rummenigge and sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić have held preliminary discussions with a number of other potential options. One of those who was in the running was Red Bull's head of sport and development Ralf Rangnick, but talks quickly broke down amid concerns that his style of play would not work with ​Bayern.

It is even suggested that interim boss Hans-Dieter Flick could be left in charge until the end of the season, depending on how he fares during Saturday's meeting with ​Borussia Dortmund.

The defending ​German champions currently find themselves fourth in the table, with Dortmund sitting a point ahead of them in second, while Borussia Mönchengladbach are the early pace setters with a three-point lead.

Bayern have won just five of their ten league games this season, and club officials are eager to make the right short-term decision over their manager to try and fight their way back to the top of the ​Bundesliga standings.

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