The Friday press briefing with Arsene Wenger has long been a weekly highlight for a London football reporter, yet what used to be an experience to cherish has recently developed into something akin to a weekly trail for the constantly under-pressure Arsenal boss.

Back in the days when Wenger was being championed by all lovers of the game as a visionary who had changed the face of English football for the better, the platitudes flowed in the direction of a manager whose insight and intellect was impossible for those in his company to resist.

While many have mastered the art of giving little away to the inquisitors charged with extracting a modicum of information from football luminaries, Wenger broke the mould as he brought a wealth of wit and humour to his press briefings, building up a strong affinity with those fortunate enough to be given the chance to attend his audiences.

For the fortunate few who have spent endless hours in Wenger’s company down the years, changing your mindset from the positive to something less edifying has been a tricky journey and yet that has been the route all of us have been forced to follow since his side last won a trophy in 2005.

None of us ‘Wenger veterans’ take any delight in the sight of our favourite interviewee struggling to fend off the barrage of negativity that tends to flow at these weekly events nowadays, as we are instead left to admire the way he politely handles all questions coming his way without every allowing his charm to evaporate.

It has become easy for onlookers to dismiss Wenger as little more than a ranting old fool as his touchline demeanour has become increasingly comical of late, but the press pack are generally greeted with the placid and relaxed Wenger every Friday and the same was true in his latest gathering.

After last week’s briefing turned into a post mortem reflecting on the passing of Robin van Persie from the Arsenal squad list, this grilling was a little more polite, but questions about his reasoning for selling Alex Song and the continuing transfer wrangle with Theo Walcott tested his patience.

There was also an inquisition as to why Nuri Sahin has chosen to join Liverpool ahead of a move to Arsenal, which Wenger handled with typical good humour: “What we can say about Sahin and 99% of the deals we have been linked with over the years is that when they don’t happen, we have normally be the ones making the final decision. Let me tell you that we have more trouble saying no to players than we do getting people to say yes as Arsenal are playing at the top level of European football.

“We have made some big decisions this summer and the task for us now is to prove they are the right ones for this club. I am confident we have a squad capable of doing that, but we have to wait and see if I am correct in that belief.”

Wenger went onto defend his determination to run Arsenal in what he describes as ‘the right way’, as he reiterated his belief that financial stability was just as important as the pursuit of trophies.

“This club has been brave in the way it has gone about its business in recent years because we knew the path we have taken would not be easy,” he claims. “We are a club in a strong situation financially due to the way we do things and even though the rest of the clubs in Europe have big financial worries, we get criticised for what we do.

“People ask ‘what are they doing at Arsenal with all the money they get in from transfer sales’. Well, I tell you we are proud of our record and the fact that we are running this club in the way every other club in Europe should be run.”

As tends to be the case on occasions such as this, questions about the upcoming game were few and far between, yet that may have helped Wenger to avoid talking about one of his least favourite subjects. His brushes with Stoke City down the years have been as unpleasant as they have been explosive, yet Wenger offered a rare compliment to a manager who promotes a very different football philosophy to his own.

“Stoke have passed the ball a little more in the last 12 months and they did that to try and adapt to playing in Europe,” added Wenger. “Despite this, they will still make life difficult for us and the style they play with means you need complete concentration for the whole 90 minutes to succeed. We have won there before and have to do it again.”

After that lengthy exchange with the broadcast media, Wenger went on to entertain the daily newspaper reporters who attacked him with a whole host of fresh questions, before the Sunday press pack were give their chance to cross examine the Arsenal boss.

Such is the weekly routine for a manager who has done this for 16 years without ever appearing to lose his appetite for all aspects of a job that has tested his resolve more than ever as star players have continued to leave and his pursuit of glory has appeared to become increasingly forlorn.

Those of us working in the media will lament the day Arsene Wenger is no longer holding fort at London Colney on a Friday, as this is a manager who has shown the rest how to handle the media. Now all he needs to do is confirm that he still has the ability to handle a team with as much success, as that is how he will ultimately be judged.

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