Guy Wenger is 71 and now retired from the family car parts business that he ran in Alsace for 42 years. His younger brother, Arsène Wenger, is 66 and will on Saturday reach the unprecedented milestone of 20 years as Arsenal manager, but you do not need long in Guy's company to sense that the passage of time has not blunted their competitive sibling instincts.

“Arsène?” says Guy, smiling, as he ushers me into his house in the Wenger family’s home village of Duttlenheim. “I taught him everything he knows!” Who was the better player? “Ask him,” he says. “Ask him about my technique. I say nothing.” The inference is clear. Big brother is still the boss and, while his affection and pride in Arsène is obvious, it will not be easily displayed.