It was revealed on 26 May that Vissel Kobe had presented a formal offer to Frenchman Arsene Wenger, who led Arsenal until last season as manager. The offer is a two-and-a-half-year contract until end 2021, with an annual salary of 4 million euros.

According to multiple sources, sporting director Atsuhiro Miura and academy director & chief scout Takashi Hirano are said to be in Europe for the negotiation talks. If the conditions are met, “Wenger Kobe” could become a reality in June.

At this moment in time, the return of Wenger to Japan is still very much a possibility. Even though club chairman Hiroshi Mikitani had repeatedly denied any talks with the former Nagoya Grampus Eight manager, the wheels to recruit the Frenchman were already set in motion.

Kobe presented their offer upon contact from Wenger’s side. And Hirano, a former Nagoya player who worked under Wenger, traveled to Europe together with Miura for the talks. However, there is a big gap in the salary expectation, given that he used to draw 9 million euros a year at Arsenal. Miura and Hirano were scheduled to return to Japan today, but have since extended their stay to continue the negotiations.

Wenger managed Arsenal for 22 seasons from 1996 to 2018, where he won the English league titles three times. He was named as a candidate for the Japan national team manager last summer, but had expressed his personal desire to work in club football. Prior to Arsenal, he managed Nagoya Grampus Eight in the 1995/96 season and guided the team to their first Emperor’s Cup.

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Source: Yahoo

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