Arsène Wenger admits that he does indeed see fouls committed by his Arsenal players, and that his famous tendency for myopia when it comes to his own team comes from his own struggles to justify their actions.

"Many times I say things I find hard to endorse in my mind," Wenger says, "but this job can be like quicksand when you lose. Everyone wants to push you down. It is all guided by fear."

Asked whether he sometimes only pretends not to have noted a particular infraction committed by an Arsenal player, Wenger agreed: "Yes, because you are thinking, 'Why has he done that?' and you know you cannot explain it. At times I saw it [a foul] and I said that I didn't to protect the player, because I could not find any rational explanation to defend him.

"This is a job where you have to have an optimistic view of human nature or you become paranoid. You always have to think that a guy wants to do well. A coach is there to help. He must think that if he helps in the correct way the players will respond. You cannot be suspicious.

"The common denominator of successful teams is that the players are intelligent. That does not always mean educated. If you speak to a player after the game and ask him to rate his performance, if he analyses well, you know he is the sort who will go home thinking, 'I did this wrong, I did that wrong'. His assessment will be correct and he will rectify. That player has a chance. The one who has a crap game and says he was fantastic, you worry for him."

In the tumult of the Premier League, Wenger has acknowledged that it helps to be a little mad. "No great things have ever been accomplished without someone's crazy belief," said the Arsenal manager. "The biggest advances have been made by people who, at the start, would have been judged mad."

Wenger has described how football is his life, how losing is like being in quicksand and defended his often-criticised transfer policy. "What will happen if you do not win? Why do you not buy players?" Wenger asked. "When you allow that to infiltrate your brain too deeply you become guided by it.

"If you lose a game you drive away and you feel completely sick. Then you think as well of all the people who's weekend is dead because of it. So you feel that responsibilty too. If you think about that too much, you can become crazy, but it makes you rigorous in your preparations. That's how I became the person I am today. I know I look like a robot; but everyone who has targets is like that."

Wenger credited the former Arsenal stars Dennis Bergkamp and Theirry Henry with being some of the most diligent players he had managed. "I worked with Bergkamp for 10 years and I have not seen a man more obsessed with every little technical thing. Thierry Henry the same. You could call Thierry at home, 10 o'clock every night, and he was there. At 23 years of age. And talk to Thierry about football: you cannot beat him."

Wenger remains respectful of other managers but suggests friendship is impossible: "On the day, it is you or them, so there is always mistrust. You cannot be completely open. There are managers I respect, but I cannot be completely friendly. That is why I do not go for a drink after matches. What can you say if you have won? And if you have lost all you want to do is get home and prepare for the next game."