Laurene Laverne

Lauren Laverne here.

We're taking our Easter break, so until we're back on air, we're showcasing a few programmes from our archive.

As usual, the music's been shortened for rights reasons.

This week's guest is the former football manager Arsene Wenger.

I cast him away in 2020.

MUSIC PLAYS

My castaway this week is Arsene Wenger.

He's spent his life in professional football, first as a player, then as a manager, known for his extraordinary staying power and equally extraordinary success.

Most coaches' tenure lasts a few seasons.

He led Arsenal for 22 years through 1,235 matches, transforming the club and British football in the process.

His upbringing on the French border with Germany in the shadow of World War II instilled both his legendary discipline and his passion for sport.

Football was a pleasure, an escape and the non-stop topic of conversation at the bistro his parents ran.

A thinker as well as a player, by the time he became a professional manager, he'd studied politics and economics and spoke several languages.

None of it went to waste at Arsenal.

His revolutionary approach to conditioning famously brought ballet and broccoli to the Gunners.

He challenged the Premier League's inward-looking culture, recruiting new talent from all over the world.

Moreover, he showed that success and style can coexist on the pitch.

He says, I am a facilitator of what is beautiful in man.

I define myself as an optimist.

I can be described as naive in that sense, but it allows me to believe, and I am often proven right.