Arsene Wenger says his love of football's "adventure" is responsible for his longevity at Arsenal.

The Frenchman celebrates 17 years in charge of the Club on October 1 - the day of the Champions League clash with Napoli - but the subject of his imminent anniversary was raised at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Wenger is proud of his consistency since arriving at Highbury in 1996 and admits that he turned down other opportunities because of the "special" qualities of Arsenal.

"Honestly, I would love to be here forever because that would mean I would be immortal!"

"It's a long time and a short time," said Wenger. "I don't know where the 17 years have gone.

"Our job has a good advantage - you just look forward to the next game. You never look back. I believe that is the most important. Of course when you look backwards, there's a lot of effort and consistency in effort behind that. For me the most interesting is tomorrow's game.

"[I've never thought] that I don't really need this anymore. I want it even more. I think the good thing about football is that it's unpredictable and the next game is always a discovery and a new adventure and so you focus on that. All the rest is decoration.

"What is important is that you feel you can do your job where you are and I'm very grateful to this club because during the 17 years we've had ups and downs, but they have always shown a big faith in me and they always let me do the job like I thought it had to be done.

Play video Watch Arsenal video online 14:32 Press conference

"If I'm still here today it's because I got that consistent support from inside the Club."

"I turned many offers down because I rate what I got here," added Wenger. "I always thought that this club is special on that front and in our job it's important to know what you want and I rated the qualities that this club has always shown.

"But I never thought I'd be here so long. I always said that our job is 'work like you're here forever and know that it can end every day'. That's how I do [my job].

"Honestly, I would love to be here forever because that would mean I would be immortal! I'm not naive enough to believe that. What I would like to do as long as I am here is give my best for this club because I love this club of course."