Arsene Wenger on England job: 'If I am free one day, why not?'

Arsene Wenger had admitted that he could be open to managing England. The 66-year-old, who will celebrate his 20th anniversary in charge of Arsenal against Burnley on Sunday (2 October), is again being linked with the vacant national job following the short-lived tenure of Sam Allardyce.

Wenger, rumoured to have been the Football Association's first-choice candidate to succeed Roy Hodgson in the aftermath of that humiliating Euro 2016 defeat to Iceland, is out of contract at the Emirates Stadium next summer. With his future still undecided and many supporters calling for an overdue change of direction, reports have suggested the FA plans to make another approach with the intention of allowing the experienced Frenchman to take the reins at the end of the season.

Gareth Southgate has already been confirmed as England's interim manager for the next four fixtures against Malta, Slovenia, Scotland and Spain, and an agreement for Wenger to take over following the end of his Arsenal deal would likely only mean the U21 coach taking charge for one extra 2018 World Cup qualifier at home to Lithuania in March 2017.

And while English football's longest-serving manager has refused to rule out the prospect of one day managing England, he insists that his focus remains fixed on achieving further success with Arsenal. The Gunners, without a domestic title since 2004, are now third in the Premier League after chalking up an impressive fourth successive win last weekend over Chelsea and currently top their Champions League group after a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Swiss champions FC Basel on Wednesday.

"My priority is to do well here," Wenger was quoted as saying by the Press Association at a pre-Burnley press conference when asked about a role with England. "If I am free one day, why not?"

He was also quizzed about the same subject immediately after that aforementioned home win against Basel, where he dubbed what had transpired with Allardyce as a "huge surprise", before reiterating Arsenal are still his first priority and that his future beyond next summer remains up in the air.

In addition to being courted by England, Wenger has also previously been linked with his native France on more than occasion in the past. However, speaking during his stint as a pundit at the European Championship on home soil, he revealed that he believed it was now too late for him to consider leading Les Bleus.

"I think this time is gone now for me," he said. "I've been asked a few times to do it, but I was always busy somewhere else."

Jurgen Klinsmann, Eddie Howe and Alan Pardew have all distanced themselves from the England position in recent days, while Wales manager Chris Coleman unsurprisingly indicated that he would respond to any approach with a "big fat no". The latest speculation suggests that the FA are eager to speak to former Bundesliga manager and current RB Leipzig director of sports Ralf Rangnick after the German previously impressed technical director Dan Ashworth during an interview with West Brom.