Arsène Wenger has lifted the lid on some of his deepest philosophies in a revealing interview with a French magazine.

The Arsenal manager, who goes into Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham with his side level on points with the Premier League leaders, Manchester City, addressed a number of topics including religion and his obsession with time in an interview with L’Equipe’s Sport and Style magazine.

Asked if he has a “mystical power” over his players when he is preparing them for a match, Wenger replied: “Religiously, it is said that God created man. I am only a guide. I allow others to express what they have in them. I have not created anything. I am a facilitator of what is beautiful in man.

“I define myself as an optimist. My constant battle in this business is to get out there what is beautiful in man. We can at this level portray me as naive. At the same time, it allows me to believe it and it often gives me reason.”

Conducted at the Hotel Belles Rives – once the home of the American novelist F Scott Fitzgerald – in the south of France during the international break, the interview began by describing Wenger’s reaction to being dressed in a long grey flannel coat for a photoshoot. “It reminds me of when I went to school in Duttlenheim,” he remarked.

Wenger was then reminded he is approaching 7000 days as Arsenal’s manager having been appointed on 30 September 1996. “For me, it represents nothing other than the fact of practicing a profession exclusively facing forward. Look to the next day,” he said.

“I still live in the future. It is planned. Tight. My relationship with time is quite scary. I’m still trying to fight it. I’m always afraid of being late. Not to be ready. Not being able to accomplish all that I planned. My personal relationship with time is scary. To go back in time, to look behind yourself is equally staggering.”

Wenger added: “The only moment of possible happiness, is the present. The past gives regrets. And future uncertainties. Man quickly realised this and created the religion. It forgives him what he has done wrong in the past and tells him not to worry about the future, as you will go to paradise.”

As a player, Wenger was known for reading a passage from the Bible before matches but he admitted his attitude has altered since becoming a manager. “Unfortunately today, it works less! At the same time, fortunately, it means that my team does not necessarily need God to win.”