Eight years have passed since Philippe Senderos left Arsenal. Conversation reveals Arsenal will never leave Philippe Senderos. “I am a fan now, I want them to do well,” explains the Swiss centre-back.

From a rich and varied career, which continues apace with the MLS side Houston Dynamo, Senderos is most closely associated with north London. His arrival at Arsenal before the start of the iconic 2003-04 season was, when still a teenager, the realisation of a lifelong ambition. “Since I was five, six years old there was something appealing about the Premier League. Something about England, the wet pitches, I don’t know … I loved it. I realised a dream when I came to Arsenal.”

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There should be no shame attached to the fact that Senderos, initially beset by injury, did not make an impact in a team who won the Premier League without defeat. “I was part of the team, in the dressing room, training with them,” he recalls. “I couldn’t get in the team, which is understandable for an 18-year-old at an unbeaten side.

“It was amazing to witness – the champions that we had in that team were remarkable. It was my first glimpse of the top level and I could see it was special. At any moment, at any time, people were winners. You could feel there was something going on. It isn’t normal to win all the time; even if two goals down, there was a strength and belief in what they were doing.

“I am forever grateful to Arsène Wenger and to Arsenal. They gave me the opportunity to fulfil a dream, which was to play in the Premier League. They are still very close to my heart and I have very good memories; regardless of things that can be said, I have amazing memories.”

From thousands of miles away Senderos has been aware of fierce criticism levelled at Wenger. He recalls what made the soon-to-depart manager one of a kind. “Transmitting this belief. You have a philosophy, every manager has one, but how do you transmit it so that the team plays the way you want? If everyone buys into this, it becomes special. He has been able to do that for more than 20 years, so I can only have respect for him. Also, the level of stress he is under constantly; to be at the top level for so many years, the stress attached to performance and the next game, every single day, is remarkable.”

Senderos believes Wenger had a useful capacity to shoulder criticism. “A personality like him wouldn’t mind if he takes the blame and protects his team,” he says. “They aren’t getting results like they used to. People like to blame someone in football. We are results-driven, so this is unfortunately what happens.

“Teams go through ups and downs. I just think the league has got a lot stronger – the investment in the Premier League is huge.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Arsène Wenger talk to Philippe Senderos in 2009. ‘A personality like him wouldn’t mind if he takes the blame and protects his team,’ the Swiss says. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

At 33 and a veteran of three World Cups, Senderos insists he has never called time on his international career despite the last of his 57 caps having come in 2016. “They did that for me,” he says with a broad smile. “The door is always open. I loved my time playing for my country. You never know: my dream is to play in a fourth World Cup.”

Senderos had spells at Fulham, Aston Villa and Rangers but his current concern is Houston Dynamo, where his influence on younger players is praised within the club. An articulate and thoughtful individual who speaks six languages, he has relished the mentoring role. “I have been lucky to have had good years in the Premier League,” he says. “I needed another challenge, something new, and this was a very good opportunity.

“We have a lot of young players. That makes it interesting for those of us who have been in the game a lot longer. We can teach these guys. You see the improvement around the team, which has been huge since pre-season. Most of the training sessions and meetings are half in English, half in Spanish. I think that was one of the points that made the club think of me.”

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It was consideration for others which struck Senderos last year after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, destroying many homes. “I arrived a week before the hurricane,” Senderos says. “I was stuck for a while in my hotel room but thankfully the area where I was wasn’t that badly affected. It wasn’t possible to get to the training centre, so we didn’t train for a couple of weeks. Then we moved out to Dallas to train.

“But unfortunately so many other people were affected by the hurricane. I really experienced how the community came together and helped the people who had more problems. For me there was an unbelievable reaction and I’d never seen a reaction like this from a community.

“I remember going to the stadium and it was full of food, blankets, anything for people who had lost things in their home. We did things for the city, for the people; the baseball team had an amazing last year as well. Sometimes things going against you brings people together.”

The strongest Senderos alliance may be with Arsenal, but he clearly relishes his present one too.