Wenger lines up Stojkovic

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed who he would like to succeed him at the Emirates once he retires from the game: Dragan Stojkovic.


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As a player, Stojkovic was on the books of Red Star Belgrade and Marseille, while he also enjoyed a long international career as captain of Yugoslavia. Now, the man nicknamed Piksi (Pixie) is managing Wenger's former club Nagoya Grampus Eight and has impressed the Frenchman.

"I would love Stojkovic to be my successor, there are a hundred reasons for that," Wenger told Serbian paper Vecernje Novosti. ''Our ideas are the same and we both strive for perfect football. I knew he was going to have teams playing attacking football with many passes.

''He has done that, showing he will be a great coach.I told him that if he could transmit his football imagination to his players he would fly high."

Stojkovic won the J-League title with Nagoya last season and also played under Wenger when he was coach at club - picking up the Japanese league's MVP award in 1995.

Wenger also revealed that Stojkovic is a regular visitor to England.

"Dragan comes to London at least once a year," Wenger confirmed. "We meet up, chat and try to outsmart each other. It's a great achievement for him to have won a championship. I was a coach in Japan for two years and didn't manage it even though I had Piksi, who was the best player in the league, in my team."

Wenger admitted for the first time that he was considering his options at Arsenal a year ago, telling the club's official website in January 2010: ''What is important is that the club is in good hands, whether they are mine or someone else's. Whether I personally leave on a positive or negative note is a little bit less important."

The Frenchman, though, signed a new contract at the club in August, keeping him in north London until 2014, although said that it would most likely be his last when he claimed: ''At 65 I will certainly move to some different job, unless I still feel like I feel today.''
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He was one of the best talented players in Yugoslavia and the world in that time ..piksi was magician with the ball he could do things that ppl can dream of

He is widely considered to have never shown his true potential in Europe as injury prevented him from establishing himself at Marseille and at European level despite being considered Red Stars greatest player of a squad that individually went on to great heights with players becoming stars at AC Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid

if he raeched his potential ppl today would say Messi who lol ...


conclusion and point : You will be in great hands plus he has winning mentality

haha I love him already

Wenger is free to leave but never making fkn decision's..!the ClUB won't allow this..NO WAY

Wenger has a lot time to kill these days,lol so he went and found his own replacement. He has 12 days to waste after that he will promise the fans new arrival will come in January.

we had this posted back when we were on goal.com

Stojkovic head coach, Henry/Bergkamp assistant coach, anyone?

Berkhamp is assistand atm at Ajax no?

imalegend wrote:Berkhamp is assistand atm at Ajax no?

For the time being. Supposedly there are some issues regarding his contract and he might not be retained as the assistant coach.

Nagoya Grampus coach Dragan Stojkovic has admitted that it is "only natural" that he has been nominated by Arsene Wenger as a potential successor to the Arsenal manager.

In an exclusive interview with Goal.com, the former playmaker said he has an excellent relationship with Wenger and is happy to have his name associated with the Premier League club.

Wenger said earlier this year that "there are a hundred reasons" why he "would love" Stojkovic, who was his captain during the Frenchman's reign at Grampus in the mid-1990s, to be his successor.

Stojkovic, 46, who coached Grampus to their first J-League title last season, told Goal.com in the wake of his side's clash with Gamba Osaka on Wednesday: "I am still a very good friend of Arsene Wenger, I see him every year, and it is only natural that my name pops up when it comes to musing about who will be his successor.

"Who wouldn't be happy to be associated with such a big club as Arsenal?

"But I am now very proud to coach in Nagoya and I am working as hard as I can for this club."

As revealed by Goal.com last Saturday, Wenger has privately conceded that 2011-12 will be his final season in charge of the Gunners and attention has begun to turn to his likely successor.

Stojkovic and the Arsenal boss are well acquainted as the former Yugoslavia international was Wenger's kingpin during the Frenchman's reign in charge of Grampus, winning the 1995 Emperor's Cup as well as the respective player and manager of the year awards.

On his possible replacement as Arsenal manager, Wenger told Vecernje Novosti in February: “I would love Stojkovic to be my successor, there are a hundred reasons for that.

"Our ideas are the same and we both strive for perfect football. I knew he was going to have teams playing attacking football with many passes. He has done that, showing he will be a great coach. I told him that if he could transmit his football imagination to his players he would fly high.”

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Only thing that drags this article down is the bullshit report about Wenger telling his friends this will be his last season.

he is was great player