Report Claims Arsene Wenger Has Turned Down Managerial Offer From Ligue 1

A report has claimed that former Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger turned down the opportunity to manage Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Étienne just days after finishing his 22-year reign at the helm of the Gunners.

According to French outlet Le Sport, via the Mirror, Les Verts were eager for the veteran coach to take over from Jean-Louis Gasset in the summer, despite their manager guiding the side to an eighth-placed finish after a nightmare start to the campaign under Oscar Garcia. 

Wenger is still believed to be considering his options for the future, and may look to take on a non-managerial role.

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Wenger is credited not only with achieving greatness with Arsenal, but also improving the Premier League as a whole - with his focus on innovate nutritional programmes and training routines proving instrumental in the competition's growth into one of the best leagues in world football.

While Mikel Arteta is now expected to take over from Wenger, Arsenal have also been linked with the likes of Juventus boss Maxi Allegri, Luis Enrique and Celtic's Brendan Rodgers.

Any new Gunners boss will be keen to ensure they have a budget suitable for the overhaul needed at the club, given their notoriously stringent transfer policy.

Meanwhile, the Arsenal board are rumoured to have already identified three key targets to sign before they appoint a new manager - with before a new manger is appointed at the club. Borussia Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Freiburg's Çağlar Söyüncü and Bayer Leverkusen's Bernd Leno could all be set to join the club in a major £75m swoop.