Gary Tupplur
The Star reported on Tuesday that Arsène Wenger had bought a house in Cambridge, and had been spotted mowing the lawn. Cambridge is an hour’s drive from London Colney down the A1, so an easy enough commute, a little over double the time it takes him to reach the training ground from his current Totteridge base.
So what does this tell us? To many right now the likelihood of Arsenal changing manager this summer is of more importance than looking up the betting odds for Arsenal matches (although there is good money to be made when Arsenal are on the road against managers familiar with Wenger’s preferred style!). And this kind of news might seriously worry those that would prefer Arsène to move on after the current campaign, concluding that the man is making long term plans to remain within driving distance of the club.
However, there may be a feasible explanation. One thing that is beyond doubt is that the manager has pots of money, more than he would know what to do with given his lifestyle. But he is also a creature of habit. He only moved house in Totteridge because of media intrusion after his relationship with Sonia Tatar became front page news back in 2010, and he would on occasion open his front door to see paparazzi training their cameras on him.
His current home, a few hundred yards from his previous one is behind a solid gate so no-one press photographer will get any joy trying to take a photo of Wenger’s domestic life. There seems no good reason for him to move unless he thinks the supermarkets in Cambridge are going to offer him more choice that the Waitrose in Whetstone, where he is occasionally spotted between the aisles.
However, think on this. His daughter Leah is now 20 years old, and is in her third and year of studying veterinary medicine at Cambridge University (a six year course if she wants to fully qualify as a vet) and is in a well-established relationship with a fellow student, the possibility of wedding bells not completely out of the question. Who knows, maybe grandchildren for Le Boss are on the horizon? Born in England, Wenger’s only child has never lived abroad and just maybe, daddy is going to take the pressure off that struggle young people in 2017 have to afford to buy a home. I kind of doubt she had to get a student loan.
So there you have it. Father is looking after the place before the ultimate resident is ready to move in, presumably after her end of year exams. What other explanation could there be for him to be buying a house in Cambridge?
